Sneak Thief
by Mahala
Summary: It's an unorthodox thief that breaks into your apartment ... and winds up dead. Mac/Team. Rated T. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The early morning sun streamed in through the doors at the end of the concourse causing the straggle of exhausted travellers to shade their eyes as they emerged from the depths of the airport. It was still relatively quiet so there were plenty of cabs in the queue. Jacko lifted his eyes from his paper and swallowed the last of his coffee as his fare threw in an old army kit bag and settled into the back seat.

"Well, well, well. Look who it isn't. Good mornin' to yer Detective Taylor!" he grinned. "If you don't mind me saying so you're lookin' a bit rough!"

Mac Taylor felt rough. He ran his hand across the stubble on his chin and grimaced as he smelt the coffee on his driver's breath. Right now he'd kill for a cup of coffee.

"Morning Jacko. I'm surprised to see you here. It's not often you do the airport run. How are you doin'?" It never ceased to amaze him that in a city of 8 million people and over 13 thousand taxis that he could run into Jacko as often as he did.

"Can't complain. How come you're here so early? You canno' be on the Washington flight. Doesn'a land for another 5 minutes." he asked as he pulled away and flicked on the meter. "Home is it?".

Mac nodded. "We were due in last night but technical trouble grounded us till this morning. Spent the night in the departure lounge. No coffee shop open due to staff shortages and an electrical short on the plane meant no hot drinks. I'll be glad to get home." Mac leant back in the seat to rest his aching neck and closed his eyes.

"Ah! Missing the caffeine huh? Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings Detective but getting back to yer place is gonna take a while. There was some big fire down that way last night and the traffic's still backed up in a three block radius. That's why I took an airport run to get out of it!"

Mac grimaced. All he wanted was a coffee, a shave and a shower in that order. He thought for a moment. He always kept a change of clothes in his locker at the office. He wondered if he could sneak in without anyone noticing. It was rare that he wore casual clothes to the office and was certainly never seen unshaven. But he'd only end up being late if he tried to get home.

"Jacko, change of plan. Take me straight to the office."

"Right yer are Detective. Why don't catch one of them ther' power naps? I'll have yer there before yer can say Jacko." And with that he pressed on the accelerator and began to hum along to the tune on the radio.

Mac closed his eyes but sleep wouldn't come. He opened his eyes again and glanced out of the window. They were just passing a hoarding with a brightly coloured advert for a well known chain of diners featuring a smiling girl with a coffee cup and an "All you can drink!" slogan. He closed his eyes again until he felt the cab stop at traffic lights. He glanced out of the window and realized they were right by a coffee shop already crowded with people grabbing an early breakfast on the way to work. The woman sitting nearest to him lifted a steaming cup to her lips and closed her eyes with a sigh as she sipped the dark liquid. Mac huffed and grabbed the newspaper that had been left on the seat.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" he said under his breath as he realised that it was the economic section that had been abandoned, it's headline standing out from the other text : "South American Coffee prices to rise again!"

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before they arrived at the office. Mac smiled and paid Jacko the fare, wished him a good day and entered the building. It was still pretty early so Mac didn't expect many people to be around. With his bag tossed over his shoulder he badged through the gate and waved a good morning to the security officer whose look of surprise didn't go unnoticed by Mac. Guess he must look somewhat different in faded jeans and leather jacket together with his five o'clock shadow that looked nearer seven o'clock. He ran his hand through his tousled hair somewhat self-consciously wishing he'd combed it in the cab.<p>

The elevator chimed it's arrival as a couple of uniformed officers stepped out so Mac jumped forward and punched the button for his floor totally unaware that both officers had skidded to a stop and were staring in amazement at the now closed doors.

Stepping out of the elevator, Mac headed straight into his office. Most of the labs were still in darkness, unsurprising at this early hour though Mac thought it unusual not to see anyone at all. There were usually a few night staff left working and a few early risers. He threw his bag down, and hung his leather jacket on the stand. He punched a key on his computer and flicked through the pile of files on his desk, the top one had a pink sticky note with "urgent" written on it. There were also several multi-coloured sticky notes attached to his desk. "Jo!" He glanced at the screen of his computer. "You have 37 new messages." it announced. Mac sighed. "Oh what the hell!" He decided now was not the time to think about his caffeine addiction so he headed towards the break room.

As he wandered down the corridor he could see that the break room lights were on and he could hear the distinct sounds of someone speaking but other than that everything seemed abnormally quiet. As he rounded the corner he was astonished to see a large number of his staff gathered around listening intently to Jo Danville, his second-in-command.

He slowed down instinctively as he approached the group, his trainers soundless on the corridor floor. He listened intently in order to catch Jo's words.

"I know that the next few hours and days are going to be difficult for all of us..." Jo was saying. Mac's pulse speeded up a little as she continued. "But we must remain focussed. We need to do our jobs and bring whoever did this to justice. It's what he would have …..." Jo's voice trailed off as Mac came into her line of sight.

For a moment she looked like an animal caught in the headlights of car. Her facial expression was one of shock and disbelief. As the crowd listening to her realised something was wrong they began to turn around. There were gasps and expressions of shock that caused Mac to halt abruptly and take a step backward. Something was very wrong.

Everyone was staring at him like they'd seen a ghost. As Mac surveyed the crowd he noted that more than one of them had tears in their eyes. In fact, several, including Lindsay who was now standing closest to him, were openly crying. Time suddenly seemed to stand still. He suddenly felt very self-conscious and he ran his hand down the back of his hair wishing desperately that he'd had time to change.

"What is going on?" he asked in a voice louder than he intended as a sudden feeling of dread clutched at his stomach. The atmosphere in the room was so tense his skin began to crawl and he felt a wave of panic wash over him. He tried to pick out his team among the crowd gathered there. Sheldon was staring at him his forehead creased in a frown, his mouth slightly open. Jo seemed frozen to the spot. Danny had his arm tight around Lindsay's shoulders and Sid was running his fingers through his hair as he did when something perplexed him.

Mac was about to demand to be told what the hell was happening when Lindsay suddenly launched herself into his arms.

"Oh my God! Mac!"

Mac stumbled slightly, instinctively wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face into his shirt.

"Lindsay, what's wrong? What's happened?" Mac felt sick. Putting his hands on either side of her face he lifted her face towards him and was astonished to see her smiling up at him as tears streaked her face. "What …." his voice trailed away as Adam came stumbling into the room.

"Whoa! Boss! You're ….." stammered Adam. Mac turned to stare at him. "You're... You're not dead!"

"What?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"What the hell? Why on earth would you think I was dead?" he demanded.

Adam could only stare at him in utter amazement, a goofy grin on his face. It was Danny who answered for him.

"Well whadda' you expect? We find a body in your burned out apartment. Who else would it be...?" His voice trailed away as Mac's gaze swivelled towards him and he realised that it was patently obvious that it was indeed someone else.

"My apartment...?" Mac gaped as realisation hit him, Jacko's words echoing in his head. "...getting back to your place is gonna take a while. There was some big fire down that way last night and the traffic's still backed up in a three block radius..."

"Oh yeah! Er ... I … could have phrased that a little better." stammered Danny in embarrassment as he realised that Mac obviously did not know about the fire. "I mean … er ... there's been a fire, preliminary assessment is that it's arson and well ….I'm sorry Mac, but your place is kind of …..totalled." he finished lamely.

Before Mac could take any of this in, Sid stepped up. "You're here! You're not dead!. You're not injured!" Under Sid's gaze Mac felt like a specimen in a dissection class. "So you weren't at your place?" At Mac's raised eyebrows, he continued thoughtfully. "So who is lying on a slab in autopsy?"

Mac glanced around the room. The tension in the air seemed to have disappeared, everyone was smiling or whispering to one another. Jo was still looking at him intently; she offered a shaky smile as his eyes met hers. It was then that he realised he still had his arm around Lindsay. He looked down to see her wipe her eyes. He felt the colour rise to his cheeks and his heart constrict as he realised the tears had been for him.

Quickly checking the flood of emotions coursing through him and mustering as much dignity as he could, he answered "I have no idea but we're going to find out."

.

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><p>.<p>

Forty minutes later, Mac had shaved, showered, changed into his spare suit and finally got a cup of coffee. Gossip had spread through the office like wildfire, so as the day shift came on, he was forced to put up with stares and whispered comments but he was genuinely touched by the number of people who came up to shake his hand or touch his arm and say how glad they were to see him. Stepping into the elevator on the way down to autopsy he bit his bottom lip and glanced at Jo.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She had barely spoken to him since he arrived in the office. He almost had the impression she was avoiding him.

Jo looked at Mac, her face unreadable. "I am now." she said quietly. "But when I got the call …" Jo looked away and cleared her throat. She took a deep breath and placed her hand on his arm. As she turned her face towards him he could see tears glistening in her eyes. "I can't tell you how glad I am that it wasn't you." she whispered. The elevator chimed to announce their arrival and Jo swept out of the doors without another word. Mac could only follow.

They both grabbed gloves as they approached the body. Mac raised the back of his hand to his face as if to block out the smell. Charred flesh was one of the odours he found hardest to deal with. "What have you got for us Sid?" he asked as he stared down at the charred remains. The body was curled onto it's left side almost in a foetal position, it's arms curled in tight to the chest and the legs drawn up. Other than that, it was almost unrecognisable as a person.

"Adult male, Caucasian, somewhere between 30 and 60 years of age, approximately 5'11'', weight is hard to determine. COD could be the fire but I'd have to run further tests to be sure. The preliminary x-rays show a couple of fractured ribs and a skull fracture so it could be blunt force trauma. He also has a previous leg injury that required some surgery but I'd say that is at least 10 years old."

Sid hesitated, removed his glasses, his hands punctuated every word. "I am so sorry."

"Sorry? What have you to be sorry for Sid?" asked Jo.

"I should have checked. I should have run preliminaries as soon as the body was brought in. But I thought it was ..." he glanced at Mac. "I just couldn't bring myself to ... and then you called the meeting." He turned back at Jo. "If only I'd have run the preliminaries and checked the x-rays I could have told you it wasn't Mac. I'm so sorry."

"No Sid! Don't be! We were all upset and we all jumped to conclusions. Anyway how would you have known from the x-rays?" she asked her curiosity piqued.

"Simple." grinned Sid. "Mac got thrown off a balcony by a perp a while back. Broke his right arm and three ribs. Not so with this guy. And as far as I know Mac's never broken his leg." Before Mac could confirm or deny they heard the doors behind them swish open.

"Ah Sheldon, my good friend. Shall we get this started?"

"Sheldon Hawkes had changed into his ME's scrubs and was gloving up as he approached Mac and Jo. "Give us a few hours Mac and we'll see if we can't figure out who this guy is. Are you sure you can't think who it could be? No one had access to your place?"

Mac shook his head, a wistful look coming over his face, his voice barely more than a whisper. "No. The concierge has a spare key in case of emergencies. But no, there's no one."

For a moment everyone was silent. It was clear that Mac had lost everything and that it was just beginning to sink in. But before anyone could offer words of comfort or support, he straightened, his face once again closed off.

"Keep me informed. I'll be at the crime scene." And with that he took off.

Sheldon and Sid exchanged looks and shook their heads. Jo merely sighed. "Oh Mac!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." Peals of laughter could be heard from the other end of the phone. Mac chuckled, glad for a little light relief from the day's events. "I have no idea but I'll let you know. I'm on my way there now ... I'm fine ... Really! … Okay I'll talk to you soon ... Yeah me too! Bye Stella." Mac shoved the phone back in his pocket. As he walked down the corridor towards his apartment he noted the walls streaked with soot and the mess of water and ash that had been paddled into the carpet. As he ducked under the crime scene tape that blocked off access to the end of the corridor he glanced at the blackened door opposite and frowned. Turning he stepped through the open doorway to what was his apartment and ground to a halt.

It was a mess. With the exception of the distinctive brick archway and the balustrade to the mezzanine, the place was unrecognisable. Everything was blackened and the smell was unbelievable, like stale barbecue, burnt plastic and day-old garbage mixed with a stench of death. The furniture was ruined, pieces overturned, items that had once meant something twisted into unrecognisable shapes. It was almost as though the room had been hit by a tornado before it was ravaged by fire. Suddenly a gentle breeze blew in through the open window allowing Mac some slight relief from the acrid odour that seemed to have invaded his every pore. He sighed as he now understood how Stella must have felt; fortunately she had been able to rescue a number of items as the fire had broken out next door. It was clear that nothing was going to be salvaged from this room. His reverie was broken by sounds coming from the rest of the apartment.

"Hey Mac. Am I glad to see you!" Mac smiled as Don Flack came through the door to his right closely followed by a handsome, well-built man with short blond hair cut in an army style. He was wearing a heavy duty jacket with the word "Barnett" inscribed on the top pocket. He was carrying a clipboard and flash-light.

"Hey Don!" The two men greeted one another.

"Well if it isn't the phoenix risen from the ashes!" joked the newcomer.

"I take it you two know one another?" asked Don seeing the flash of recognition in their faces.

"Yeah, Jake and I have worked our fair share of arson cases together." Mac shook hands with Jake in greeting.

"Well I never expected to be working yours." Jake shook his head in wonder. "First I find out it's your place, then they tell me there's a body and then just as I'm getting my head round that I'm told you've walked into the Crime Lab bold as brass as though nothing has happened. Where were you anyway?"

"Visiting a friend. Flight was delayed due to a technical fault. I only got back this morning. Were there any other casualties? Mrs Ryan?" Mac asked as he indicated the door opposite his.

"No you needn't worry on that score. Thanks to the vigilance of one of your neighbours from the complex over the way …" Jake pointed through the window of Mac's living room. "... the fire department were on scene in a matter of minutes. All the lower floors were evacuated. The apartment underneath yours was empty as it was being renovated, the service stairwell prevented it from affecting the rest of the floor, and Mrs Ryan was away visiting her daughter so the only victim was your mystery guest. Any ID yet?" asked Jake.

"No" Mac shook his head "Sid Hammerback and Sheldon Hawkes are working on it now. They've taken tissue and hair samples but don't think we'll be able to get DNA any time soon. There are no usable finger prints. They're hoping the skeleton might tell them more. We will probably have to rely on facial reconstruction. "

"Are Danny and Lindsay on their way over?" asked Don. At Mac's nod of confirmation he continued "...because I think he might be a burglar." At Mac's look of surprise Don beckoned and carefully led the way over to the balcony. Mac looked up. There were scuff marks on the wall and the distinct tread of a partial boot print. "Your neighbour saw smoke coming from an open window so it looks like he came in this way."

"And that's not all..." said Don leading the way back in. He pointed out a blackened pile on the floor next to where the body had obviously be found. "Yours?" he questioned.

Mac squatted down and peered closely at the blackened mass of char wood, metal and what could be leather. He could just make out what looked like a drill bit, the head of a screwdriver and a lock-pick. "A tool kit? Definitely not mine."

"That's what I thought. Hey Danny. Montana!" Don waved them over.

"Hey there Don, Jake. Are we clear to process?" asked Danny.

"You're good to go Danny." replied Jake. "I've got what I need; the place is structurally sound. Obviously it will have to be gutted, re-wired, re-plastered, new woodwork etcetera but the electrics and water are safely shut off. I'll have some guys come board up the windows and secure the door for you Mac. Be sure to get onto your insurance as soon as possible. Well I guess I'd better leave you to it. My preliminary report will be on your desk by close of business today."

"Thanks Jake. I appreciate it. You take care." Mac held out his hand. Jake hesitated as though he was about to say something else. Then he seemed to change his mind, shook Mac's hand, before leaving with an "I'll be seeing ya."

"So" started Danny with a grin "you got yourself a cat burglar who ran out of lives?"

Lindsay tutted and rolled her eyes. "But who set him on fire and torched the place?"

Mac glanced at her quizzically.

"From my initial analysis, the debris I recovered from the body indicate that he was covered in paper, probably your books ..." she paused to indicate the empty, charred bookshelves behind them noting Mac wince at the loss of his beloved books "...then sprinkled with alcohol possibly from a crystal decanter."

"Agh!" Mac was not best pleased. At everyone's questioning look. "The decanter belonged to my father and the 12 year old single malt was a gift from Sid. I was saving some for Thanksgiving." He sighed before continuing all business once again. "So we know that there were two people here. One was obviously a burglar ..."

"I don't mean to be rude but have you got stuff worth stealing ?" asked Don.

Mac shrugged. "A couple of scientific antiques not worth a huge amount and certainly not something your average burglar would go after. Too fragile and difficult to transport. I had a couple of first editions but again nothing worth stealing. Maybe they thought something was in the safe."

"Safe? What safe?" asked Don.

Mac stepped over the spot where the body had laid past the tool kit. He bent down and prised away a vent in the wall to reveal an old-fashioned key-lock safe. Don gasped in amazement.

"Family jewels?"

"No Don. Just to keep important papers. My father always said the worst thing about a fire was replacing your household documents so I had this old thing moved when he died." Reaching into his pocket Mac withdrew a key and unlocked the safe. "See" he said with a triumphant look. "Totally unscathed. Dad was usually right." He withdrew a dozen files each in a buff coloured folder, the top one marked "IRS" and a small wooden box which he slipped discretely into his pocket.

"Wow!" said Danny. "That's organised." He winced as Lindsay dug her elbow into his side, hissing "See I told you we needed to do that." under her breath.

"Look Mac, why don't you and Don see if there's anything you can salvage from the rest of the apartment. You ought to get on to your insurance. Danny and I will finish up here and Adam is on his way over to help."

Expecting Mac to argue with her, Lindsay was pleasantly surprised when he offered no more than a nod and a faint. "Thank you Lindsay. I'd appreciate it."

.

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><p>.<p>

Adam Ross shrugged the heavy bag higher onto his shoulder and staggered up the last flight of stairs. "I gotta exercise more." he huffed. He finally reached his destination with a sigh. He grabbed the heavy fire door expecting it to be harder to open than it was so the door flew back into the wall with a resounding bang. Adam stumbled out into the corridor almost colliding into a man who muttered a quick "Sorry" before pushing his way through the door into the stairwell and disappearing down the stairs.

"Hey where's the fire?" Adam's attempt at humour failed as the man didn't acknowledge him so he shrugged and made his way into what was Mac's apartment. "Guess the fire investigation service don't have a sense of humour."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Jo Danville yawned and stretched. It had been a long day. Flicking off her desk light, she was just putting on her coat when Don poked his head in. "You done?" he asked.

"Yeah! It's been one helluva day. Please tell me he isn't still in his office?" she struck a school-teacher pose with her hands on her hips.

"No. Don't worry. He's gone shopping for a few essentials and to pick up his dry cleaning. At least he's gonna have suits and shirts to wear. I've convinced him to stay with me for a couple of days until he gets something organised." At Jo's look of surprise, Don continued with a grin. "Emotional blackmail! He's helped me out more than once. I convinced him that he owed me for the fact that I owe him."

Jo laughed. "I'm sure that will make sense in the morning."

Don grinned. "Besides, it's a good deal."

"Oh how so?"

"Yeah. Mac uses the cleaners right round the corner from Señor Chows. Oh yeah! spicy orange chicken, won-tons, special fried rice …..." Don rubbed his hands in glee.

"Don Flack. You and your stomach! Give me a lift home?" Jo batted her eyelashes and at Don's nod of agreement, she grabbed her purse and a stack of files and headed out of the office followed by her favourite hungry detective.

x

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><p>x<p>

Mac Taylor knew he had made a huge mistake as soon as the first man stepped out in front of him. He had just placed his order at Señor Chows. He told the server he was just going to pick up his cleaning while it was prepared. So he ducked down the poorly lit side street searching through his wallet for the receipt from the cleaners. With his mind full of the events of the day he wasn't taking in his surroundings until his way was blocked by a heavy-set man in dark clothing whose face was obscured by a hat and hooded sweater.

Of course, he was unarmed. He was off-duty and his piece was in his desk drawer together with the box he had taken from the safe. As soon as he saw the knife, he flicked aside his coat showing his badge clipped to his belt. Most muggers would think twice before attacking a police officer. It was only when the second man barrelled into him from behind landing a heavy blow to his lower back that he realised this was no ordinary mugging.

Taken by surprise and propelled forward by the force of the guy behind him, Mac only had enough time to tuck his head in and shoulder his first attacker in the stomach before the momentum threw him to the ground, the second man landing partially on top of him. Despite the pain from the blow to his back and the shock of the impact with the unyielding concrete, Mac reacted immediately ramming his elbow backwards and was rewarded with a satisfying crunch and a yelp of pain. Seeing that the first attacker had been thrown off balance by his unexpected tackle, Mac struggled to feet only just in time to miss the blade swishing a few inches in front of chest. He made a dive for the arm holding the knife. Grabbing the man's wrist he swivelled around bringing his right foot up and back in an attempt to destabilise his attacker. Mac brought his weight down on the man's elbow forcing the man to gasp and let go of the knife. Just when Mac felt he was getting the upper hand, the air suddenly left his body as an almighty blow took him in the stomach. Mac stumbled as he struggled to breathe and a wave of nausea spread over him, the bile rising in his throat. Then a second blow caught him on the cheek bone sending him to the ground causing him to see stars.

He couldn't get up; he felt as though he couldn't take in enough oxygen. His vision was blurring as he tried to compartmentalize the pain. The next thing he was aware of, was someone with a knee in his stomach and a knife at his throat.

"Where are the photographs?" growled the man pushing his knee harder into Mac's stomach.

"What photo ...?" Mac stammered as he tried to blink away the blood from his eye and take a breath. He was unable to focus on the face in front of him. The high collar of the coat and the hat pulled down over the man's eye-brows made it difficult to see anything in the dim light. He was vaguely aware of the second man standing to his right.

"Don't play games with me. We know he called you..." A boot landed in his ribs from the man on his right making Mac hiss with pain. "...and we know that little weasel put them in your safe. Where's the stuff you took from it?" The man asking the questions grabbed Mac's hair, jerked his head forwards and slammed it back down into the side-walk. "Tell me or I'll gut you like a pig!"

"Go to hell!" spat Mac immediately regretting that particular tactic as a heavy boot stomped down on his hand grinding it into the concrete below him and the knife pressed harder into his throat drawing blood. Just as he was wondering how he was going to get out of this predicament he heard a shout from down the street. The pressure on his throat and stomach was relieved temporarily before the impact of a heavy boot to the head turned his world black.

x

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><p>x<p>

Sheldon Hawkes had worked non-stop. He and Sid had cleaned the bones and determined that the fracture to the skull was certainly enough to render the victim unconscious if not kill him. The minor fractures to the ribs were pre-mortem. There were also hairline fractures to the jaw and cheek bone so it looked as though the victim had definitely taken a beating just prior to death.

He shivered involuntarily as he recalled stepping into Mac's apartment earlier that day and seeing what he had assumed was the body of his boss and his friend. He recalled the anger that coursed through him as they determined that the body had been burnt deliberately and the incredulity when Mac had casually strolled into the break room. He had to smile. Mac Taylor in jeans and t-shirt! Mac with his hair ruffled and designer stubble! Sheldon chuckled to himself. He thought about how Mac had offered him a home when he had lost everything. He was doing okay now; he had managed to turn things around and he was beginning to get everything back together.

Exhausted but determined to get results he lifted his glasses, rubbed his eyes and resettled them into place. Just as he was about to run the facial imaging Fast-Scan on the freshly cleaned skull, his phone rang. Glancing at the number he saw it was Jo. Frowning at the lateness of the hour he picked up.

"Hey Jo What's up?"

"Sheldon. Thank God!" came the disembodied voice. Jo was clearly panicked. "It's Mac. He's been attacked. Don and I are at the scene. Mac's been taken to General. Can you get down there? Find out what's going on. I'm going to call Danny. Oh Sheldon. He was unconscious when they left. Please … please find out if he's going to be all right..."

"Jo calm down. I'm leaving right away. I'll call you as soon as I hear anything." He hung up the phone, flung his lab coat onto the desk and leaving the skull behind, punched a code into the keypad by the door effectively locking the door and securing the lab and his evidence. Mac would never tolerate evidence unattended.

Sheldon ran to his locker to grab his stuff. As he closed his locker, he took a deep breath. Someone burns down Mac's apartment and then attacks him. Was this some kind of revenge? Could the first attack be a mistake? Had they assumed that the man in the apartment was Mac and when they discovered he wasn't they tried again? No that didn't make sense. Question after question whirled through his mind. He shook his head and slammed his fist into the locker in frustration.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The doors swished quietly open as Sheldon Hawkes entered the hospital ward. The nurse at the station frowned as he flicked open his ID, introduced himself and asked for the whereabouts of Mac Taylor. Irene Lewis had been a nurse for some time and was good at reading faces. Despite his professional demeanour, the badge and the silver case he was carrying in his left hand, she was certain that this young man was more than just a concerned colleague. She could see the lines of worry on his face, the sadness in his eyes, and she could almost hear the dread in his voice. Instead of pointing out her patients' room, she rose and came round to meet him.

"This way." she said in a gentle voice. "I'll take you to him. I have to warn you he's not pretty but it looks a lot worse than it is." At his nod, she led the way down the corridor towards a room on the left. Despite all his years as a doctor, medical examiner and CSI, he couldn't help but flinch as he looked through the glass window at the man before him.

Irene Lewis seemed to be able to read his mind. "It's not the same when it's a friend. You'll be okay" Sheldon smiled unsure whether the last phrase was a statement or a question. "I'll let the doctor know you're here" and with that she left.

Sheldon's brain automatically switched into doctor mode. His mouth set in a hard line he began a visual assessment; he could see vivid purple and black bruising down the left side of the face, severe swelling possibly indicating a fracture to the zygomatic arch. A mass of clotted blood just along the right temporal bone near the hairline indicating a sharp blow which was probably what had rendered Mac unconscious. There was a large square of gauze covering his throat just below the jawline. He wasn't intubated although he had a nasal cannula so obviously no damage to the trachea. His breathing sounded shallow and a little laboured so possibly some broken ribs especially considering the fact that the head of the bed was elevated and his left arm lay protectively across his stomach. And finally Sheldon noted a heavily bandaged right hand. He wondered what injuries were not visible.

"Sheldon?"

He jumped despite himself unaware that Mac was actually conscious. Suddenly the doctor was gone and only the concerned friend remained. He dropped his case next to the bed and moved closer. "Hey Mac. How are you feeling?"

"The sons of bitches knew." Mac gasped, his face contorting with pain as he tried to take a deep breath.

"Whoa! Whoa! Take it easy. Try to relax" Sheldon took note of Mac's rapidly rising heart-rate and knew he shouldn't encourage him but he also knew Mac. "Knew what Mac?"

"They knew I took stuff from the safe." Mac swallowed, his breathing becoming shallower as he squeezed his eyes closed. Sheldon noted a light sheen of sweat beading on his brow at the effort to keep the pain under control. "They knew he'd put them in there."

"Who put what in there Mac?" Sheldon felt a twinge of guilt as he pushed Mac for information knowing the pain he was in. He grabbed Mac's hand linking their thumbs together. He felt Mac's grip tighten around his hand. "Who put what in there Mac?"

It was then that the nurse who had shown him in rushed through the door with the doctor.

"Excuse me Sir but you're going to have to leave." said the doctor in a firm voice. "Mr Taylor, can you hear me?" Mac's eyes flew open and he leaned forward gripping Sheldon's hand with surprising strength.

"Sheldon! Photos! In the safe!" With a last tremendous effort Mac locked eyes with his friend. "How did they know?"

"Okay, that's enough. Mr Taylor I need you to calm down, You are going to cause yourself more injury." The doctor placed his hands on Mac's shoulders firmly pushing him back into the pillows. He turned to the nurse. "Do it."

Inserting a needle into the IV attached to Mac's arm it was only a few seconds before his features relaxed, his heart rate slowed and Sheldon felt the grip on his hand lighten. It was only then that Sheldon realised he'd been holding his breath. And he slowly exhaled. Carefully placing Mac's hand back onto the bed covers he stepped back and moved into the corridor allowing the doctor to examine his patient.

After the few moments the doctor emerged. "Dr Hawkes I believe? A word if you please."

x

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><p>x<p>

At a time when the New York Crime Lab should have been in darkness, every light was on and there were more people around than usual given the late hour. No one had asked, no one had been told; they simply stayed. As Sheldon arrived back from the hospital he was surprised to see Danny doing the facial reconstruction he had left earlier. Adam was rolling his chair back and forth between several screens obviously running several searches at once. Lindsay was in layout supervising a number of techs; as soon as she saw Sheldon she rushed through the door.

"Mac's things?" she asked nodding at the evidence bags containing Mac's clothing. Without waiting for an answer she grabbed the bags. She pointed to her right and the four lab techs working on evidence laid out on the light table "All the stuff from Mac's apartment..." Pointing to the other side where two lab techs were waiting expectantly "... and everything from outside Señor Chow's. Jo and Don are waiting for you in the conference room."

She turned away to go to the room where two lab techs were evidently waiting to process the clothing but thought better of it and turned back to Sheldon.

"You okay?" she asked softly placing her hand gently on his sleeve.

"I'm fine." he answered. Lindsay smiled at him and raised her eyebrows. He grimaced and laughed at the same time as he realised what he had said. "I know. I sound just like Mac."

"He's going to be okay Sheldon."

"Yeah I know." Lindsay left to get the lab techs started on the analysis and Sheldon made his way wearily to the conference room. He was surprised to see Sid there poring over some photographs with Jo and Don. They all looked up as he entered the room.

"How's he doing?" asked Don.

"Stable. He's heavily medicated ... He looks dreadful Don." Sheldon sighed. "It's going to take some time but you know Mac ..."

Jo rolled her eyes."So he'll probably try his first escape plan tomorrow then." They all laughed though they all knew Mac wouldn't be going anywhere soon.

"We were just going over the photos you sent." said Sid. "From what Don has just told me, the eyewitness said there were two of them. No real description other than well-built, wearing hats and hooded tops. He thought one of them had a knife which is confirmed by this cut on Mac's throat." Sid moved a photograph to the centre of the table. Sheldon's forehead creased in concentration as he studied the wound in more detail.

"The injuries he sustained to his left cheek, his stomach and kidney are consistent with a right-handed punch." He paused as he placed three more photographs centre table. Sheldon shook his head as he viewed the pictures. He tried to disassociate the injuries from the person. It had been bad enough taking them. He was thankful that Mac had been heavily sedated.

"Wow! That's one helluva punch!" interjected Don.

"Yes well it would be with one of these." Sid placed a brass knuckle-duster on top of one of the pictures matching the curves of the rings to the black curves of the bruises on the photograph. "I borrowed this from Mac's little collection."

"Sonofabitch! If that guy from Señor Chows hadn't come out for a smoke when he did ….." Don dare not finish his sentence. Jo placed her hand on his arm reassuringly.

Don rubbed his face as Sheldon sat down next to him. "What the hell is goin' on here 'cos I'll be damned if I know."

For a moment they all sat in silence until they heard a whoop of joy from the corridor. Adam came hurrying from one end of the corridor to meet up with Danny in the middle. They exchanged a few words, both grinned and high-fived.

"At least someone looks as though they've got good news." said Jo and they waited with bated breath. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Okay I have scored big time!" announced Adam slamming his papers onto the conference room table. He stepped up to the console at the end of the room his fingers flying over the keyboard like a concert pianist. "First of all, I have two lovely boot prints one taken from the wall on Mac's balcony." A picture appeared on the left hand screen. "The second taken from a discarded paper bag in the street outside Señor Chows." A second print appeared next to the first. "And what up? They match!" With a click of the mouse Adam moved the second picture over the first to form a perfect match.

"Okay so unless we have two guys with identical boots we can put one of Mac's attackers at both scenes. That's great Adam but..." started Jo.

"But that's not all!" grinned Adam as Jo held up her hands in mock surrender. "That lovely bloody print you lifted from the kerb. Not Mac's, not his blood either, wrong blood type! But it got us a hit in AFIS. Oh yeah! " As Adam typed away on the keyboard everyone leaned forward in anticipation. "Allow me to present ….." A picture popped onto the centre screen.

"Mickey Brewster! That sonofabitch! You wait till I get my hands on him!" Don shot out of his chair slamming his hands onto the table.

"You ... you know him?" stammered Adam.

"I put him in Rikers eight years ago for robbery and assault. You sure it's him ?" Adam nodded and Don stormed out of the room only stopping as Danny yelled after him. "Don, don't do anything stupid!"

"Don't worry! I got this." he flung over his shoulder as he passed Lindsay on her way to join the others in the conference room.

"Wow. He's in hurry." said Lindsay to her husband.

"Yeah, Adam just got a hit on one the guys who attacked Mac. And I... " he said turning back to the room holding up a PC tablet "...have a picture of our burglar."

"Wow that was fast!" smiled Lindsay clearly impressed. Danny grinned at her.

x

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><p>x<p>

Once more seated around the table, Jo summarised the facts to date. She stared up at the reconstruction that Danny had completed, the face on the screen rotating through 180 degrees as though surveying the five occupants seated at the table.

"Well I guess we can forget any preconceived ideas we have about burglars. It seems that this one broke into Mac's apartment not to steal anything but to put some pictures in Mac's safe." While she spoke her left hand played constantly with the pendant around her neck as though it somehow held the key to the mystery.

"The boot print puts either Mickey Brewster or his accomplice at Mac's apartment so it's fair to assume that one or both of them follow the burglar to Mac's, beat him up, kill him and torch the place. At some point, they are told that Mac has taken the pictures out of the safe so they attack Mac in order to get their hands on them. But before getting any information they are spotted by one of the chefs from Señor Chows and they take off." Her fingers kept the pendant in constant motion until she suddenly broke off, spun to face the room and placed her hands together.

Jo's face said it all. "There are more questions than answers here but the biggest question is why?"

"Well, if we had the photos, we'd probably know why!" exclaimed Lindsay.

"Don and I've been through Mac's papers that he brought out of the safe. Nothing!" At everyone's look of surprise she added "Well he just left them sitting on his desk." Jo's jewellery jingled as she threw her hands in the air. "There were no photos. Just the usual ... insurance, wage slips, tax returns, utilities, receipts, last will and testament...not that we actually read them of course!"

Before the conversation went off at a tangent Lindsay brought everyone's focus back to the subject at hand. "The photographs wouldn't necessarily be paper versions. They could be on an SD card. Did you look in the little wooden box?"

"Whoa!" Danny stared at his wife. " What little wooden box?" Jo shrugged looking mystified.

"The one he took from the safe and put in his pocket when he retrieved the files."

Danny frowned in consternation but then realised he had been standing further away when Mac had opened the safe. He only saw Mac stand up with his arms full of files. "Was the box among his things from the hospital?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No. I'm going to check his office." and without waiting for acknowledgement she got up and left.

Jo frowned. "Wait here." she ordered as she took off after Lindsay.

Before Lindsay entered Mac's office she grabbed some gloves from the box in the layout room and a small evidence bag. Slipping the gloves on she made her way around Mac's desk and hesitated. Sensing Jo's presence she looked up briefly, her face momentarily displaying indecision. She felt as though she was violating Mac's privacy but the situation called for action. She took a deep breath and bent down to open the top drawer. As she suspected it was locked. She pulled the set of keys from the evidence bag marked "Mac Taylor – N.Y. General", looked through them briefly before selecting a small key. Inserting it into the lock she opened the drawer and withdrew the polished wooden box she had seen Mac take from the safe.

She placed the box on the desk and glanced at Jo.

"How did you know Lindsay?" she asked softly.

Lindsay smiled. "It's what I would have done. If I had lost everything and this was all that was left I would have put it somewhere safe. Mac's office is his refuge and he always locks his gun and his personal items in this drawer. Simple."

For a moment Jo felt a pang of jealousy as she realised that this young woman knew Mac much better than she did but she pushed the feeling aside. "Open it."

Lindsay carefully lifted the lid off the box and gazed at the items inside. Somehow she wasn't surprised at the contents. Mac may have put on a tough exterior to those around him but she knew he hid his feelings deep inside him and she knew him to be a caring, loving, deeply compassionate man.

Jo gasped softly. "She's beautiful. Claire?" she asked.

Lindsay nodded. Her eyes moved over the faded photograph that showed signs of frequent handling. As she looked at the other items she felt guilty as though she was prying into Mac's most inner being. A wedding ring. A lock of hair. A silver locket and a bundle of letters. Dog tags. An unusual triangular key with dents rather than grooves. She frowned as her eyes alighted on what looked like a bullet clearly deformed from having been fired from a gun, the scientist in her automatically classing it as a larger calibre possibly from a rifle. But it was the little square of plastic that caught her attention. She picked up the SD card to show Jo.

"I hope it's not his holiday snaps." she quipped quickly replacing the lid on the box and locking it away safely in the desk drawer. Lindsay heaved a huge sigh of relief. She had hated invading his privacy but they had to find some answers quickly. Somehow she had the feeling that this was far from over.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Logan Tanner had just got another coffee as Don Flack flung open the homicide office doors with a bang. The coffee spilled and Logan cursed, making his younger partner snigger. Don stormed through the precinct to his desk, the previous 18 hour roller-coaster of emotion and fatigue gone as one thing and one thing only occupied his mind. Mickey Brewster.

"Gerry! Logan! I need possible whereabouts on Mickey Brewster." he yelled as he stormed up to his desk. The entire room fell silent as he grabbed the phone. Logan caught his partner's eye; they knew something was up when Don Flack Jr was on the war path.

Don dialled a number from memory. "Nancy, I need a favour. I need an all access pass for multiple addresses for one Mickey Brewster." He glanced over at his two colleagues who were busy typing at their keyboards. Logan nodded his head and circled his finger. "Logan is sending over possible locations now. What charge? ... Murder, arson, assaulting a police officer, carrying dangerous weapons, breaking and entering... will that do for starters? … Yep! ... A bloody fingerprint ... yep Adam Ross over at the Crime Lab. Excellent!" Gerry and Logan exchanged glances once again. This sounded like fun. Don slammed down the receiver, spun his chair to face the room. "OK who wants to get the son of a bitch who did a number on Mac Taylor?"

Logan grinned at his partner and grabbed his jacket, his coffee forgotten. "You coming?" Gerry got up, grabbing his phone and headed after his partner and mentor.

x

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><p>x<p>

"Whoa! That's not what I was expecting." Danny leaned back in his chair looking at the first of the photographs on the central screen in the AV lab.

"It's a fire alarm." exclaimed Adam clearly confused.

"No really?" snapped Danny.

"Boys!" chided Lindsay. "Just keep going Adam."

Adam clicked to the next photograph, a chain link fence with a fire hydrant in front of it. Adam glanced at the others in the room and getting no reaction he moved onto the third picture. Again the chain-link fence but taken from a greater distance so that a warehouse was clearly shown in the background. The next picture was similar but taken from a different angle, the next included a security guard's hut. The next three pictures were of the security guard, one sitting in the hut and the second in mid-stride as he did his rounds. The third showed a close-up of the badge on his sleeve. "Ascot Security." The following sequence were pictures of the warehouse from another angle, the street-lights and a close-up of a security camera, also marked "Ascot Security" on a pole that faced the warehouse entrance.

"It looks like he's casing the joint." muttered Danny.

"Why would a burglar want to hide pictures of his next job in Mac's safe?" asked Sheldon.

"Adam is that it?" asked Lindsay.

"No three more." Adam clicked the mouse to show the next picture. The scene had changed completely. No warehouse, no chain-link fence, just a street view taken at night and in the centre of the picture, two men facing one another outside a rather seedy looking bar with a blue neon cocktail sign in the window. Adam clicked the mouse again The next picture zoomed into the men's faces although the lighting and camera shake made it blurred. It was the last picture that was the kicker as it captured one of the men staring straight into the camera as though he had suddenly become aware that he was the photographer's objective.

"Mickey Brewster!" declared Danny. "Got him!"

"Okay" said Adam rubbing his hands together. "I'm going to clean up the second-to-last photo. See if I can get a better image of the other man."

Lindsay stood up. "I'll see if I can locate the warehouse and the bar and I'll check on the trace from the …."

"No!" announced Jo. "No. Secure what we have." They all froze and stared at her like she'd gone mad.

"But Jo ..." started Lindsay.

"No we're all running on fumes. I don't want us making mistakes because we are exhausted. We know now that Mickey Brewster is heavily involved.. Let's see what the morning brings. I have no doubt that Don will have our suspect in custody before breakfast." At this everyone grinned. "Go home. Eat. Sleep. I want everyone back in here at 8am tomorrow. No arguments!"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N : Thank you dear reviewers for taking the time to write a review. They are much appreciated and I will do my best to keep this going. Hope the pace isn't too slow!.  
><strong>

**Chapter 8**

Sheldon had a feeling of deja-vu as he walked through the hospital doors the next morning. It was still early and the night-shift was handing over to the morning shift. The nurse he had seen yesterday was shrugging on a coat and speaking to a young red-head who was nodding eagerly. As he approached, Irene Lewis turned around. Her face showed no surprise as she smiled.

"Good Morning Dr Hawkes. I could mention visiting hours but I know that would be a waste of my breath. So, as I said to your other colleague, ten minutes no more!" and with that she waved her hand over her shoulder and was gone.

Sheldon was speechless. He had about to begin a well-rehearsed speech on how he didn't wish to intrude but again the formidable Nurse Irene Lewis seemed to have read his mind. "My other colleague?" he queried.

The young red-head smiled at him. "This way Dr Hawkes. Detective Taylor is doing very well all things considered. His vitals are good though his oxygen count could be better and his blood pressure is a little low. We've had him sedated through the night to monitor the bleeding as I believe Dr McIntosh explained to you last night. That now seems to be under control and shouldn't require surgery providing Detective Taylor gets sufficient rest and doesn't put too much strain on his abdominal muscles. We will cast his hand tomorrow or perhaps the day after once the swelling has reduced. Our main concerns at present are the bruising to the stomach and kidney, and of course the concussion but he seems quite lucid. Dr McIntosh will be by in half-an-hour if you have any further questions."

She smiled at him once more and left him at the door to Mac's room. Sheldon turned to look at Jo who was sitting by Mac's bedside, her hand covering his. "I think perhaps they've decided the best way to handle us is the direct approach." she grinned. At the sound of her voice Mac's eyes fluttered open.

Sheldon approached. He could see the fatigue etched into Mac's face. His eyes seemed unfocussed but he didn't appear to be in any pain. Sheldon glanced at the readouts on the monitors and the IV's hung up and nodded as if in approval.

"I guess they need to be with you double-checking everything." Jo hissed.

"Sorry! Guess old habits die hard." he said. "Hey Mac, how are you feeling?"

"Mm fine." he whispered fighting to open his eyes.

"Oh seriously Mac!" sighed Jo, rolling her eyes at Sheldon who just shrugged his shoulders in defeat.

A small smile briefly graced his face. "You get the guys who did it yet?" asked Mac, proving that he hadn't lost his dry sense of humour.

"Actually yes! Don's bringing one of them in now." Jo grinned at Sheldon. "Told yer!"

Sheldon raised his eyebrows in surprise but before he could say anything Mac asked softly "Who?"

" A Mickey Brewster..." Jo hesitated as Mac's eyes closed unsure whether he was still with them. "Mac...?"

"Don put him in Rikers for assault."

Jo was stunned. Despite his condition Mac was still able to dredge up facts like that. "Do you spend your evenings off memorising the NYPD database?"

Mac smiled again. "No spent an evening listening to Don moaning about his busted nose." Jo and Sheldon chuckled.

"Why?" he asked his eyes fluttering closed once more. Sheldon could see he was fighting a losing battle. He needed sleep..

"We don't know that yet but ..." she hesitated and looked at Sheldon as though unsure whether to push. Sheldon nodded "Mac can you take a look at this? Sheldon and Danny broke the all records to get a reconstruction of your burglar. Do you know him?"

Mac inhaled sharply as though gathering the last of his strength. Lifting his head he looked at the image on the tablet PC that Jo held for him to see. He blinked several times and then frowned. "Sammy?" he said. Jo sat up straighter eager to hear more. Finally they were about to get some answers.

"Oh God! … Sammy! … What was he doing? ... Sheldon the photo …?" Mac asked.

"We found them but they're just pictures of a warehouse, like he was casing the place for a job. You know … like the alarms, the cameras and a security guard and some pictures of Mickey Brewster and an unknown man. Mac, you said Sammy. Sammy who?"

Sheldon could see that Mac was fading fast "No. … No. Not a job, Sammy wouldn't ..." Sheldon could see the frown lines deepening. He glanced at Jo.

"Mac. It's okay. Just relax. We've got this." Jo spoke softly regretting having pushed.

"Sammy … Samuel Wilson ... Josh died … the fire … " Mac's voice petered out and he collapsed back onto the pillow as he could no longer fight the drugs and the sleep his body was craving.

Sheldon checked the monitors once more but seemed satisfied. "Come on Jo. He needs to rest."

x

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><p>x<p>

"Well, well. What goes around comes around!" Detective Donald Flack Jr was enjoying himself immensely. He grinned at Logan Tanner who was leaning nonchalantly against the wall. Their suspect Michael Peter Brewster AKA Mickey or Big Mick was sitting sullenly in a chair in an interview room, his hands cuffed behind his back. The take-down had been easier than Don had anticipated. Mickey had clearly been getting ready to run but had stopped at an all-night drug store to get treatment for his busted nose when Logan had spotted him. Of course, he tried to run. They all tried to run but Logan had called Flack so that Mickey ran directly into Flack's path. He had no choice other than to grind to a halt with Flack's service weapon two feet from his belly. As the other officers encircled him he'd stuck his hands up. He was now being scrutinised through one-way glass by Lindsay and Danny when Jo arrived.

"Oh Good Heavens! I said 8 o'clock. How long have you two been here?" Danny and Lindsay just smiled and shook their heads. "He saying anything?" she asked as she examined the huge man sitting in the chair on the other side of the glass.

"You know you don't even have to say anything. I got everything I need to put you straight back into Rikers where you belong." Don opened a file and pretended to consult his notes. "I got your blood and fingerprints right outside Señor Chows where you attacked Detective Taylor."

"He attacked me and I'm going to sue." grunted Mickey sneering at Don.

Don pulled a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me face and Tanner shook his head in amusement. "So Detective Taylor walked straight up to you unprovoked and smacked you in the nose?" Don could barely keep a straight face.

"Yeah that's right." Mickey snarled, or at least as best he could with a broken nose.

"With his fist?" asked Don.

"Yeah that's right." Mickey repeated. Don paced around and grinned at his three friends watching him from behind the glass.

Jo couldn't believe her ears. "Oh please! He can't be this stupid. He must know that we can prove that his blood and mucus on Mac's sleeve means Mac elbowed him from behind." Danny and Lindsay exchanged glances.

"And let me guess you defended yourself with these?" Don held up an evidence bag containing knuckle dusters.

"Yeah that's right." Mickey began but suddenly changed his mind "Er no, I've never seen them before ... I want my lawyer."

Don paused for a moment and pulled a "I'm thinking" face. "OK" he said and made for the door where Tanner's partner Gerry stood outside grim-faced.

For a second Mickey looked confused. "Whadda you mean okay?"

"I'm going to get you a lawyer because you my friend, are in dire need. I have Detective Taylor's blood on knuckle dusters found in your possession, Detective Taylor's blood on your boots where youkicked in him in the head." Don ducked his head down to indicate his suspect's stockinged feet as he circled the table.

"I have your blood on the sleeve of Detective Taylor's jacket and my scientific friends here will show that in fact he elbowed you in the face breaking your nose while you and youraccomplice tried to beat him to death." Don's finger jabbed repeatedly in the air with every emphasised word. He grinned as he brought his head close to Mickeys. "Bet that really hurts." he chuckled indicating the large white bandage taped across Mickey's nose.

Mickey looked even more displeased but continued to scowl as Don straightened up and continued his circuit of the room flashing yet another wide grin at the two-way mirror.

"Now I could push for the attempted murder of Detective Taylor but I've already got you for assaulting a police officer ….again!"

Mickey started to look uncomfortable and shifted uneasily in his chair.

"So why don't you go easy on yourself and tell me what this is all about? Who's your friend who attacked Detective Taylor and who is this with you in this photograph?" Don placed a copy of the photograph that had been recovered from the SD card on the table in front of Mickey. Mickey frowned at Don licking his lips nervously. He glanced at the door as though thinking of making a run for it but Gerry merely glared at him.

"I dunno." he mumbled looking down.

"How can you not know the name of the person you go around beating up police officers with? Huh? Look Mickey, I know you were at Detective Taylor's apartment two nights ago, that you killed Samuel Wilson and that you torched the place..."

Mickey's head snapped up. "What? … Who? … That's not … I didn't ..." He stopped clearly panicked. "I want my lawyer."

Don turned around slowly to face the two way glass, a look of confusion on his face. Jo rapped three times on the glass and made to leave the room. As Don headed out the door, Mickey suddenly spoke up.

"I confess!" he shouted "I attacked Detective Taylor just like you said. I did it."

"And your accomplice?" asked Don, his hand still on the handle. Mickey stared at him for a second almost as though he was afraid.

"There was no one else. I did it on my own. I was angry and I did it. There was no one else. I don't know nothing about no apartment or no fire. Two nights ago? ... I ... I was at a bar with friends. I got witnesses. Ask the barman!"


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N : Thank you dear reviewers once again for taking the time to write a review. They are really appreciated and cerrtainly encourage me to keep this going. Sorry only a short chapter. Tomorrow's will be longer. Promise! ;-)  
><strong>

**Chapter 9**

"Oh there was someone else all right." said Jo regaining the conference room. "The witness was formal. One man standing over him and the other kneeling on his stomach. Why deny it? Why lie?"

"But he was clearly surprised when Don mentioned Mac's apartment and Samuel Wilson." Lindsay eased herself into a chair in the conference room next to Danny.

"Yes I got the distinct impression he did not know about Samuel Wilson or the fire." added Jo

"What about the boot print?" asked Adam. "I thought that put him at Mac's place?"

"Not necessarily. Same boot, same size, not necessarily the same wearer." explained Jo. "A big coincidence admittedly but it's not enough. Don has gone to check his alibi and, though I hate to admit it, I have a horrible feeling it's going to turn out to be true." She sighed heavily before continuing. "What else do we have?"

Lindsay flicked open her file. "Sid confirms that Samuel Wilson was killed before the fire. Blunt force trauma to the back of the head. There was a small right-angled marking consistent with a small square object with slightly rounded corners. We weren't able to identify a potential weapon from Mac's place and there was no other trace. Sid is looking into it. The fire was lit using books in the main room. The 12 year old malt from Mac's crystal decanter was the accelerant."

Danny smiled ruefully at this as he recalled Mac's annoyance at the loss of his books and whiskey. He had no idea that Mac even liked whiskey.

"Fire's were lit in the bedrooms too. Our arsonist was definitely trying to destroy evidence. The big question is .." she paused for effect. "How did Samuel Wilson know that Mac had a safe in his apartment and why did he hide the SD card there?"

Danny leaned forward to consult the file on the PC tablet in his hand. "According to his record, at the time, and we going back over fifteen years here, Samuel Wilson was a pick-pocket who moved on to burglary specialising in safe jobs mostly depriving Manhattan elite of their ill-gotten gains. " Danny's face lit up "According to this his arresting officer was ..." He held out his hand.

"Mac" everyone chorused.

"Spot on." he laughed "but get this during the arrest there was a long chase across a roof-top during which our Sammy fell and was left hanging. He would have been killed if it hadn't have been for ..." He held out his hand.

"Mac" everyone chorused again.

"He got onto the New Start rehabilitation programme, got early release on Mac's recommendation and got out almost 2 years ago."

"So you're saying what? They became friends? Mac and a jewel thief?" asked Sheldon. "Oh come on, you can't be serious."

"But that doesn't explain how he knew Mac had a safe or even where he lived?" asked Lindsay.

Danny shrugged.

"The book! No way! No way!" squealed Adam clearly delighted. Everyone stared at him. "The book! Oh come on! Haven't you read the latest best seller? Sneak Thief by Taylor J. Wilson." He grinned obviously pleased with himself.

"Adam?" trilled Jo in a sing-song voice waving her hands in circles to encourage him.

"Taylor? …. Wilson? ….the story of a reformed cat burglar who teams up with a retired criminologist to solve crimes in Manhattan? There's even a scene where they sit in Matt Tyler's apartment sipping his 12 year old malt from a cut glass decanter. Mac's apartment. … Yeah! … No wonder the science was so accurate, Mac wrote it!"

"Oh come on Adam! You gotta be out of your mind. Are you saying Mac's written a novel?" spluttered Sheldon, incredulity etched into his face. Danny and Lindsay just stared at Adam like he suddenly grown an additional head.

"Oh you have got to be joking! Mac couldn't ...wouldn't... He hasn't got time for that." Jo looked at Adam disbelievingly. "I mean … No it's ridiculous …."

"No, it makes perfect sense. Mac took a break. He was gone for four months. He was considering retirement. Samuel Wilson could have written the draft of the novel while in prison and picked Mac's brains for the forensics before publishing. It's brilliant! The descriptions are spot on. Matt Tyler's apartment in the book is Mac Taylor's apartment in real life. Hah! Awesome! I can't believe I didn't see it before. Awesome!" Adam was beside himself. "Maybe I get him to sign my copy!"

Although she was having a hard time believing what Adam was saying, it was again Lindsay who brought everyone's mind back to the question at hand. "O...kay! So let's say Samuel writes a book, goes to Mac for help, evidently spends time at Mac's place. The safe …. ? A...dam?"

"Huh. Oh! In the book Sal Whitman, er … the hero, installs a safe for his friend Matt Tyler. If he based it on fact, Samuel could have installed the safe for Mac. He knew where it was and what it was. So it was easy to break into and what safer place than a police officer's apartment to hide incriminating evidence?"

"Okay Adam." Jo smiled her very best smile. "Incriminating evidence of what?"

"Well of a …er … er … that's a very … very good question."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N : Thank you dear reviewers once again for taking the time to write a review. They are really appreciated and cerrtainly encourage me to keep this going.**

**Chapter 10**

  
>Lindsay reached across the interactive computer table and tapped the file folder displayed there. She couldn't help smiling at Sheldon who was rubbing his hands in anticipation. She could tell he loved using the lab's latest technology. "Boys and their toys!" she muttered to herself. Using her fingers she flicked images around the table as though dealing out cards. Opposite Jo used her thumbs and fore-fingers to expand a picture. She tipped her head on one side studying it carefully.<p>

"Lindsay, did you manage to locate the bar?" asked Jo.

"No. It seems the neon cocktail sign is pretty generic. It could have been made by any one of a number of manufacturers who ship all over the country primarily to local suppliers. Without a reference number it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"What about this warehouse? Are we even sure it's in New York? Or the bar for that matter?" asked Sheldon spinning a couple of photos to change angle as though something new might pop out if only he looked at it differently.

"Well Danny's chasing down the security company, Ascot Security. They're a New York based company and Adam says the time stamps on the photographs indicate that there was a 22 minute lapse between the pictures of the warehouse and the pictures at the bar. They were taken between 3 and 4 hours prior to the fire at Mac's place. So I think it's safe to assume that they are both here in the New York area. There has to be something else." Lindsay bit her lip as she continued to study the images in front of her.

Her reverie was interrupted by her phone. She looked at the screen. "Danny!"

Lindsay listened intently and then sighed as she relayed the information. "Danny says that Ascot Security have 139 'storage facilities' in New York on their books. According to the duty supervisor they all look the same to him but he'll check with his site staff. It could be any one of a dozen places. He's sending over a list now. And can you believe the supervisor didn't recognise the guard in the photographs? Apparently he doesn't deal with the staff on a daily basis. His assistant who handles that kind of thing is off sick but he's going to get in touch with her and get back to us."

"Great!" huffed Jo.

"Er Jo, Danny would like to call in on Mac on the way back if that's okay?" she asked.

"Sure Lindsay." Jo knew how upset Danny had been since the fire and, given how close he and Lindsay were to Mac, she was surprised that he hadn't been before.

Lindsay finished the call. "Thanks Jo. It's hard for him, you know, it being Mac and what with his brother and all. "

Jo was about to ask more when her own cell rang.

"Don, tell me you have something!" she begged "Oh I knew it!" she huffed. Her jewellery jingled as her hand went to her hip.

"Brewster has an alibi." she hissed. "OH! That's great. Okay send Lindsay the address and we'll cross-reference it with the list of potential warehouses that Danny got from Ascot Security. Will do." She hung up.

"The bar that Mickey Brewster claims he was at? Well the barman confirms that he was there all evening with friends until well into the early hours. He even threw him out for unruly behaviour. He couldn't have been at Mac's place but …" Jo paused for effect.

"There's a blue neon cocktail sign in the window!"

x

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><p>x<p>

Danny hated hospitals. He'd spent too much time in them and they had too many bad memories. He paced nervously as he waited. He tried to focus on the birth of his daughter, the one good association but somehow, the sounds, the odours brought back only the bad memories. He paced some more.

"Detective Messer. It's okay. You can come in now." The young nurse smiled at him and he approached the door to Mac's room hesitantly. As he peeked around the door he was surprised to see Mac sitting up and awake.

"Wow! Mac! I … after what Sheldon said I thought you'd be out of it." he stammered.

Mac licked his lips. "I'm ..." he hesitated as he searched for the appropriate word " … feeling a little more with it."

Danny folded his arms and shuffled nervously from foot to foot. "That's good. That's good. 'Cos if you'd have said 'I'm fine' I'd have had to shoot you." Danny quipped, his joking a barely disguised attempt at covering up his feelings as his eyes passed quickly over his friend's bruised face and freshly bandaged hand that was propped up on two pillows.

"Can I get you anything else?" asked the nurse gathering up a covered tray as Danny approached Mac's bed.

"A cup of coffee would be nice."

"Nice try Detective! Don't even contemplate it." she laughed. "If you're good I'll bring you some milk."

Mac grimaced, his eyes following her out of the room and then he turned his attention to Danny.

"How are you doing?" he asked.

Danny rocked back on his heels. "How am I doing?" he spluttered. "You've gotta be kidding me Mac? I'm the one supposed to be asking you that." He ran his hand through his hair as Mac tipped his head on one side and looked at him inquiringly not fooled for a minute.

He sighed. "I'm okay. I'm okay now that I can see you are." His voice cracked as he spoke.

Despite his fatigue and the drug-induced light-headed feeling, Mac could see that Danny was emotionally drained.

"Pull up a chair Danny. Tell me what's going on at the lab. Everyone behaving themselves?"

Danny was glad of the distraction. He pulled up a chair. "Mickey Brewster confessed to doing a number on you outside Señor Chows but claims he was alone." At Mac's look of surprise he held up his hand. "I know. I know. You're going to tell me there were two of them. We've even got an eyewitness that saw two men but for some reason Mickey's refusing to name names and he's now lawyered up. Anything you can tell me about it?"

Mac thought for a second then shook his head, a look of anger flashing across his face. "It happened too quick and … I was distracted." The frustration in his voice was evident. He closed his eyes and bit his lip. Danny could tell he was furious, more with himself than the men who attacked him.

"Hey it was two against one. Not a fair fight." Danny tried to make Mac feel better.

"I should have known … I should have been more vigilant. I even left my piece at the office. Dammit!" Mac shifted uncomfortably. "Stupid ..." Mac grimaced. He should have known better. He was an experienced cop, a marine and he'd been caught out. He should have known better.

"Come on Mac. Don't beat yourself up! You couldn't have foreseen it." At Mac's half-laugh Danny realised his faux-pas. "Oh! Poor choice of words." Danny was glad to see Mac laugh but he didn't fail to miss the wince that accompanied it. Danny decided to change tack.

"Mac, I'm sorry about your friend." Danny leaned forward. "Sammy was your friend wasn't he?"

Mac looked at Danny for a minute and then nodded "I know what you're thinking. A cop and an ex-con. Not a friendship that's appropriate for someone in law enforcement but Danny, prison changed Sammy. He wasn't the same man that I put in there so when our paths crossed again we became friends. An unorthodox friendship I confess but yes, Sammy was my friend." Mac paused not wanting to ask. "Are you sure it's him?"

"Yeah. Sid confirmed it. He got Sammy's dental records from the prison medical service. And Lindsay got his prints off the SD card from the box in your safe. Do you have any idea why he would hide photographs in your safe?" Again Mac shook his head so Danny continued. "Sheldon said you mentioned someone called Josh this morning."

"Josh was the reason Sammy and I met up again after I put him away. Joshua Wilson was Sammy's brother. He was also the security guard who was killed in the Lambert Road fire five years ago."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, yeah, yeah! I remember. We worked that case together. We originally suspected foul play but there was no proof and the fire investigation service determined that the fire was started accidentally. Do you think there was more …..? Do you think Joshua was involved?"

"I don't know Danny but ...what if we missed something?" Mac closed his eyes deep in thought, his face worried. He couldn't get the image of Sammy's face out of his head, he look on Sammy's face as he told him his brother was dead and his reaction to being asked if Joshua was involved. "My brother didn't do this Detective. He was an honest man. My family were good people. Good people. I'm the only bad apple!"

"Do you think that Sammy's death had something to with his brother …?" Danny broke off as he realised Mac seemed to be in pain. His frown had deepened. There was a light sheen on his forehead, and his left hand was over his stomach.

"Look Mac, I gotta get back to the lab. I'm going look into it okay? You get some rest. Don't worry, we're going to get whoever did this." he said as he rose to leave. Mac just nodded.

"Mac?" Mac looked up at him. "You need anything?" But Mac merely shook his head.

"I'm going to get whoever did this. I promise" he whispered as he quietly closed the door behind him, noting with satisfaction that the nurse was heading back to Mac's room..****


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N : Thank you dear reviewers once again for taking the time to write a review. They are really appreciated and cerrtainly encourage me to keep this going**

**Chapter 11**

  
>The sun was just beginning to rise over the city's skyscrapers as Jo Danville flicked her badge at the uniformed officer and pushed her way past the police barriers. Don Flack turned round as she approached as though he automatically sensed her presence.<p>

"So much for grabbing a quick breakfast." he grumbled as he turned once more to stare at the scene in front of him. Smoke still rose thickly into the air though the flames had been out for a while. Fire fighters were still dowsing the smouldering ruins or pulling at debris to control the collapse of the building. The noise of the rush hour traffic honking in frustration as police cars and fire engines blocked off the street wasn't enough to drown out the crash of falling masonry and the screech as a section of roof caved in.

"Has to be arson." Jo said surveying the ravaged building in front of her. "This is too much of a coincidence."

"Don nodded "It's got to be. Fire chief says it's going to be a while before investigators can get anywhere near it. It's under control and the flames are out but it's as hot as hell and structurally unsound. But one interesting fact however, the security guard, Jimmy Martinez seems to have gone AWOL."

Jo looked pensive as she took in this new information. "Victim of the fire?" she asked. As Don shrugged she continued. "Don, there's nothing we can do here. Come on. I'll buy you a doughnut and then I think we should have a word with Ascot Security."

Don grinned "Nah. Let's make it a sit-down breakfast. Danny's got it covered."

x

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><p>x<p>

"Mr McKluskey!" Danny slammed both hands down on the table in front of him. The short pudgy man sitting opposite flinched and licked his lips nervously. "Don't play games with me. I know when someone is lying to me." The duty supervisor of Ascot Security shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"I'm not lying. I don't know anything about last night's fire." he muttered not looking at Danny.

"You are lying. You know the warehouse in this picture." Danny slapped a photograph in front of him. "You know this security guard." Another photograph appeared next to the first causing the man to jump. "You know the men in this picture." Again McKluskey flinched as he stared at the photograph taken outside the bar. He shook his head in denial.

"I don't know anything. Please?" he pleaded. Danny leaned across the desk. He recognised fear when he saw it.

He sighed. "I've done some digging Mr McKluskey. There have been three fires at various properties in the last five years. All declared accidental but you did security for all of them. To me that sounds more than a little suspicious especially when I've got a fourth fire at a warehouse for which your company is supposedly responsible."

McKluskey didn't say anything. He just shook his head.

"Okay we are going to continue this conversation at the precinct. But I know you are involved and I will prove it. And if I find that you had something to do with the attack on Detective Taylor and the murder of Samuel Wilson I will personally ensure you go to jail for a very long time. "

The panic in the man's eyes told Danny everything. "Murder? I had nothing to do with that. You've got to believe me. I swear I didn't kill anyone. I wouldn't ...oh you have to believe me. It's all got out of hand. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

x

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><p>x<p>

Something was bothering Sheldon Hawkes. He drummed his fingers on the desk as he studied the pile of photographs and reports scattered in front of him. He stood up and leant against the desk facing three transparent boards. He ignored the empty board on the left with a picture of Joshua Wilson. He glanced at the centre board headed by a picture of Samuel Wilson and a large hand-drawn square with a question mark. But his focus was on the right hand board, the board with a picture of Mickey Brewster and another hand-drawn square around a question mark but no photograph of the victim's face just a simple handwritten heading: Mac. He jumped slightly, unaware that Adam had come into the room.

"It doesn't seem right does it?" asked Adam. "Seeing Mac's name there as a victim."

Sheldon was pensive for a moment. "No, no it doesn't."

"You saw him this morning?" asked Adam hesitantly.

"Yeah. He's doing okay, better than okay actually. The swelling's going down so his face doesn't look so bad. They're going to cast his hand today but it's going to be a few more days before he's really up and about. Those knuckle dusters did a lot of damage." Sheldon shook his head slightly, his lips pressed into a thin line. "Something Mac said."

Sheldon pushed off the edge of the table and stood in front of the centre board. He pointed to a handwritten bubble. "Photographs in Mac's safe … How did they know?"

Adam looked confused. "Er … how did who know what?" The pen in his fingers punctuated the words who and what.

Sheldon turned to face him : "It was the first thing that Mac said to me when I reached the hospital just after the assault. How did they know he had the photographs that Samuel Wilson had put in his safe? It's been bothering me."

Adam thought for a moment. "You think they were watching him when he left the apartment?"

"I don't know Adam. Don took him to the apartment and drove him back here. Somebody watching could have noticed the files but they wouldn't have known about the safe or the box. The only people that were there when Mac pulled off the grill hiding the safe were Don and Danny and Lindsay..." Sheldon turned back to look at the boards. The answer was there somewhere.

"Yeah and the fire guy!"

Sheldon's head spun towards Adam. "What? What fire guy?"****

**.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N : Thank you dear reviewers once again for taking the time to write a review. I can't express in words how much I appreciate it.  
><strong>

**Chapter 12**

William McKluskey was sweating. His mouth was dry and he felt sick to his stomach. He looked around the drab, grey interrogation room, at the plain steel table bolted to the floor, at the young man bouncing lightly from foot to foot consulting a large buff folder and then back at the table.

"Just start at the beginning and tell us the truth." Danny could almost smell the man's fear. He knew he was close to cracking. Danny glanced briefly at the two way window. Even though he couldn't see Jo and Don, he knew that Jo was nodding. Time to turn up the pressure. Danny spun around and slammed a photograph onto the table making the man flinch.

"Joshua Wilson, security guard with Hever Security. Died in a fire at a warehouse on Lambert Road five years ago."

William McKluskey glanced at the picture and returned his attention to the table.

"Five years ago you were also a security guard with Hever before you got the supervisor job at Ascot."

William McKluskey's head shot up. "I had nothing to do with that – I wasn't even there..."

"No you weren't because you were involved in a car crash and Joshua Wilson was a last-minute replacement." Danny slapped another photograph on the table.

"Samuel Wilson, Joshua's brother, killed in a fire at Detective Taylor's apartment." Bang, another photograph appeared. William McKluskey licked his lips nervously. "Detective Mac Taylor. Assaulted. Look at his face! This was done by you and Mickey Brewster."

William McKluskey looked at the photograph in horror. "No I had nothing to do with that. I swear. I have never hurt anybody. That was all Mickey. I swear!… Please … don't let them hurt my wife. Please."

Danny almost felt sorry for the man in front of him. He knew what it was like to have your family threatened. He softened his tone a little. "Mr McKluskey, Mickey Brewster is behind bars. We have evidence linking him to the assault on Detective Taylor. He is going to prison and he isn't going to hurt anyone. Tell me who he was working with and how you're involved."

William McKluskey rubbed his hands across his face and looked at Danny, resignation all over his face. It was all falling apart and he knew it. In a way he was relieved. It had all gone too far. "We were just supposed to steal some stuff. Nobody was gonna get hurt. You have to believe me."

"Go on." Danny sighed with relief. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"At the beginning we just lifted a few small items from the storage facilities. Just me and Mickey. You know, a few clock radios, them games consoles. They were put down as natural loss, you know inventory errors, breakages and such but then we planned the Lambert Road job. When we realised what was going to be there Mickey wanted to take more but I told him... we couldn't, we'd get caught. Nobody notices small amounts but anything bigger ... Mickey said that if the warehouse was torched no one would know."

"So Mickey Brewster deliberately set fire to the warehouse?"

"No, not Mickey. I helped steal the stuff and he sold it on via some guy he knows who's got an outlet store out of town. He said there would be an investigation if they suspected arson. It had to look like an accident but he knew someone who could do that."

"Who?"

"I don't know!" At Danny's look of annoyance McKluskey placed both hands on the table and leaned forward. "I swear to you I do not know. He never told me the name of the guy who set the fires. He only ever turned up after we shifted the stuff. I swear to you I never even saw him."

Danny frowned. "So the other fires while you were working for Ascot were also deliberate?"

McKluskey nodded "Yeah, after the Lambert Road scheme worked I moved to Ascot. I provided the where and the when. What inventory was going to be shipped in, when, the plans to the warehouse security systems. I fixed the cameras to show nothing and I made sure that Jones and Martinez were the security guards assigned. Mickey took care of everything else."

"Jones and Martinez?"

"Because I was supervisor I had to remain at the office. We had to have security guards who were in in on it. Mickey provided the names and I ensured they got hired. Alvin Jones and Jimmy Martinez. Jimmy was on the rota for last night's fire."

Jo glanced at Don.

"I'm on it. I'll call you …." As he left Jo's phone rang.

"Yes Sheldon. Okay. We'll be right there." She hung up and rapped on the window three times.

x

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><p>x<p>

As Jo and Danny approached the conference room they could see Sheldon talking animatedly to Adam and Lindsay. Lindsay was looking shocked.

"Hey Babe! What's up?" Danny's voice was full of concern to see the anguish on his wife's face.

"Danny! Oh God Danny! We think Jake Barnett may be involved."

Danny stopped abruptly. "Jake Barnett? Are you kidding me? We've worked together ..." Danny wasn't able to finish his sentence. His mind was working overtime. "We … we first met at the Lambert Road fire. Mac and I worked that case together … No! No!" Danny's face was full of denial as William McKluskey's words echoed in his mind. "_... there would be an investigation if they suspected arson. It had to look like an accident but he knew someone who could do that..._" Who better than a fire service investigator?

Jo could sense how distressed everyone was. "Let's sit down. Jake Barnett is the fire service investigator that is in charge of the fire at Mac's right? What evidence do we have that he is involved?"

Lindsay sat down at the conference table with Danny beside her. "The only people that were present when Mac opened the safe and took out the box were Don, Danny and myself. The only people who knew that the photographs were in the safe were Samuel Wilson and the two men who attacked Mac. Wilson is dead, Brewster has an alibi for the night of the fire which leaves the third man ..."

Adam began to sing the theme tune from the film as he tapped on the console at the end of the conference room. Everyone glared at him. "The third man … Jake Barnett. He was at Mac's apartment."

"No Adam, he left as we arrived." Danny was still in denial. He didn't want to believe that a colleague, a friend even, was involved.

"Sorry Danny but he was still there when I arrived. I bumped into him in the hallway. He was stood right outside Mac's door." Adam glanced at Danny. "And then there's this!"

Everyone turned to face the monitor at the end of the room. Adam brought up a fire service photo ID of Jake Barnett and then next to it the photograph taken by Samuel Wilson outside the bar with the blue neon cocktail sign.

"Okay this is the photograph that shows Mickey Brewster talking to our third man. I can't get facial details but I can ..." he paused as he tapped a few keys " … isolate his profile ..." A portion of the photograph expanded to fill the screen thus eliminating Mickey Brewster from the picture "...sharpen the edge ..." The photograph began to look more like a silhouette. "And now with a little magic from Mr Barnett's biometric ID … voilà!"

With a flourish, Adam hit a key. Green lines appeared on top the photograph of Jake Barnett tracing the contours of his face. Forming a 3D image, they rotated 90 degrees and moved over the top of the silhouette.

The room was silent. The profiles from the two photographs were a perfect match.  
><strong><br>**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N : Well dear readers. I'm afraid this will have to do you until after Christmas ... with special thanks to all the reviewers who make my day. Happy Holidays!  
><strong>

**Chapter 13**

  
>"Jo!" Don Flack waved a file at Jo as she crossed the corridor with a steaming cup of tea, her first of the day.<p>

"What have you got for me Don?"

"OK we picked up Alvin Jones. He was panicking and packing his bags when we arrived. No sign of Jimmy Martinez. I've got my guys looking for him now. "

"Someone warned them?" Jo stopped in mid-stride.

"Yeah, couldn't have been McKluskey or Brewster – they're both locked up tight. They haven't made calls other than to their lawyers. Could be that they'd heard we'd brought in McKluskey and they assumed he'd given them up."

Jo turned into her office and threw herself down in her chair. Don looked like he was going to sit down but gave up on the idea when he realised that every surface in the office was covered in papers, files and multi-coloured sticky notes. Instead he leant against the edge of the door.

"Do we have enough to bring Barnett in?" asked Don.

Jo shook her head. "No. Not yet at least. Until we get something concrete. I don't suppose Jones ….?" Don cut her off with a shake of the head.

"Jones admitted that they turned over the warehouses on McKluskey's orders and that Mickey Brewster helped them shift the stuff. They know nothing about the fires."

"Agh!" Jo was frustrated. "We have nothing other than suspicion and a profile identification from a photograph taken by an ex-con. It's not enough. There's nothing from Mac's place or from outside Señor Chows to tie Jake Barnett to either crime. Ah Lindsay, tell me you have something?"

Jo's face fell. "Sorry Jo. The DA won't bite and we don't have enough to subpoena Jake Barnett's financials. Adam and Hawkes are going through the financials and phone records for Brewster and McKluskey but they only show cash deposits. We waiting for the paperwork to go through for Jones and Martinez but McKluskey said everything was cash so I don't hold out any hope."

"What about the warehouse fire that killed Joshua Wilson, Sammy's brother?" asked Don.

"Danny's looking into it but he and Mac were pretty thorough." Lindsay sighed. "There was no evidence to support foul play but Jake Barnett's report was the clincher. He declared it an accident."

"Have you told Mac about Jake Barnett yet?" asked Don.

Jo sipped her tea thoughtfully. "No, I didn't want to worry him further until we had something concrete. Danny said he was pretty upset about Samuel Wilson and that he and Barnett had worked quite a few cases together." She sighed. " Obviously Samuel Wilson discovered something about the night his brother died that led him to suspect Jake Barnett. He followed him and discovered they were going to rob and torch the warehouse last night so he goes to Mac's and hides his evidence but the photographs in themselves are not proof enough. There has to be something else. Don did you ever find out Samuel's address?"

"No. His parole officer had an address of a boarding house but it seems that is well out of date. He hasn't been there for months. Mac must know where Sammy was living."

"Okay. Let's go see him. Let's get his take on all this though I wish we didn't have to tell him about Barnett."

x

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><p>x<p>

Mac Taylor almost felt human again. He'd had a wash and made an attempt at shaving, albeit with assistance. He was now wearing his dark blue sweat pants and an oversized NYPD blue tee-shirt, and was sporting a matching dark blue cast on his right hand. He leaned against the freshly made pillows of his bed. The pain medication had taken the edge off the discomfort and he was feeling more alert. He spotted a familiar face through the window, smile and waved.

Gayle Mortimer hung a new bag on the IV stand and fixed her patient with a mock frown. "Now Detective. Remember what I said. I don't want you to put any strain on those damaged muscles. Call for assistance. Okay?" Mac smiled and nodded. "Yes ma'am." The nurse laughed and smiled at Mac's visitor as he entered the room. "Not too long, please. Simon will be along shortly to take you for your scan."

"Anything else?" she asked brightly. "Apart from coffee?"

As Mac pulled a face, she laughed. "No caffeine! You know perfectly well it's an irritant and not good for a damaged stomach. I'll bring you some soup and if you can keep that down we'll see about getting you on oral medication and getting rid of that IV."

As she whisked out the door, Mac greeted his visitor.

"Jake! What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here?"

x

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><p>x<p>

"Oh No! Now what?" Jo was horrified to see two fire engines and a number of cars with lights flashing as she and Don pulled up outside the hospital. They jumped from the car and sprinted up to a nearby officer.

Showing their badges they asked what was going on. "A small electrical fire on the fourth floor at the back of the building. Damaged a store room and a couple of treatment rooms. It's under control now – no casualties. We're just mopping up."

Muttering their thanks Jo and Don exchanged horrified looks and rushed in through the doors. "You don't think ..." began Jo.

"I don't like it. What was Mac's room number?" asked Don knowing perfectly well it was on the fourth floor.

The elevator ride seemed to take forever although it was only a couple of minutes. "Excuse me?" Jo waved at the young red-haired nurse she had seen before. "What's happening? Is Detective Taylor all right?"

Gayle seemed taken aback by the question and the level of panic in the woman's voice. "Oh everything's fine now. There was a fire in a storage room. It's just been rather chaotic. We had to move some patients but it's the other end of the corridor from Detective Taylor's room..." she broke off as she realised that the two detectives had already set off in the direction of his room. Out of curiosity she followed. Looking through the window she was saw that the room was empty, and the two detectives were examining his bed.

Coming into the room behind them Gayle began "Oh, of course he won't be here. He's been taken for his scan..." her voice trailed off as the two detectives turned towards her their faces grim. She looked in horror at the discarded IV bag and the spots of blood smeared on the white sheets where it had been ripped out of her patients arm.

Before she was able to say anything a young man pushing a wheelchair entered the room. "Hey Gayle." His eyes widened as he saw Jo and Don, their police badges quite visible. He looked from one to the other and immediately sensed something was wrong.

"Simon ...where is Detective Taylor?"

Simon just stared at her. "I don't know … I've been helping move patients downstairs because of the fire. I've only just got here."

Don stepped forward, his voice urgent. "When did you last see Detective Taylor? Please try to think. It's important."

Gayle bit her lip. "Er .. about an hour ago. I'd just given him his medication and got him settled. Er … I left him just as his visitor arrived."

"What visitor?" demanded Don, the urgency in his voice making her flinch. Before she could answer Jo interrupted.

"Is this the man?" Jo held out her phone. Gayle looked at the screen and nodded. As she looked up she couldn't fail to see the look of fury that crossed their faces.

"I don't understand." wailed Gayle. "I thought he was Detective Taylor's friend."

"So did we."  
><strong><br>**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N : Thanks to all the reviewers who make my day.  
><strong>

**Chapter 14**

Lindsay looked up from her screen as her husband's phone rang. She rolled her neck to stretch out the kinks from having stared at the screen for the past two hours trying to find some link between Mickey Brewster and Jake Barnett. She looked at Danny as he answered. He glanced at her briefly and turned away but she didn't miss the emotions that crossed his face. Alarm. As he stood with his back to her she could see the tension in every muscle. He hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. He had only uttered three words. "Hello" and "I understand."

"Danny what's wrong?"

Danny hesitated and slowly turned around his face unreadable. "Nothing to worry about babe. That was Mac. He needs me to do something for him. I won't be long."

Lindsay wasn't fooled for a moment. "Danny what's going on? Aren't Jo and Don with Mac at the hospital?"

Danny felt sick to his stomach but he had to lie. "Yeah. Yeah ... This is just something personal he wants me to check on. Okay? I won't be long. Trust me." And with that he kissed her and left.

Lindsay felt as though she'd been slapped. She was sure that Danny was lying to her but she had to trust him hadn't she?

x

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><p>x<p>

Logan Tanner read the caller ID as he grabbed the phone off his desk and leant back in his chair. "Hey Don what's up?" He listened for a second before righting himself. "Bloody Hell!" His cry alerted a number of officers around him who were unused to hearing expletives from the mild-mannered older detective. "I'll get right on it and meet you there. Gerry's out sick. I'll get a couple of the other guys to come with me. Brazen sonofabitch! I don't believe it!" Suddenly Logan was the centre of attention as several officers approached his desk curious as to what had caused this reaction in their colleague. Logan's face was grim. No sooner had he slammed the phone down, he picked it up again and dialled a number from memory. "Hi Helen, Don needs another favour. An all access pass for Jake Barnett of the fire investigation service, home, work, financials, the lot." He took a deep breath as she asked the reason. "He just abducted Detective Mac Taylor from N.Y. General." Now he definitely had everyone's attention.

x

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><p>x<p>

Lindsay couldn't believe what she was hearing. She waved at Sheldon to come over. "Jo I'm putting you on speaker. I'm here with Sheldon and Adam." She pressed a button and put down the handset as she mouthed "It's Mac – he's disappeared from the hospital!".

"Lindsay, where's Danny?" Lindsay hesitated before answering. She had known something was wrong. Dammit!

"He's not here Jo. Mac called him and said he needed a favour."

"When was this?" asked Jo. They could hear Don in the background : "That's not possible."

"About fifteen minutes ago." Lindsay was furious. What the hell was he playing at?

"Adam, I want you to trace the last incoming call to Danny's phone and triangulate his position. Sheldon check the surveillance footage from the hospital. Mac's not well enough to walk away from there. They had to have transport. We are on our way to Jake Barnett's house. We're getting the paperwork for his financials. See if we can find out what is going on here."

"Ok Jo. We're on it." Lindsay pushed the button to cut the call and grabbed her cell to call Danny when Adam stopped her.

"Er, there's just one thing." He looked guiltily at Lindsay. "I … er … saw Danny in Mac's office. He looked like he was taking something from Mac's desk."

x

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><p>x<p>

Mac Taylor did not feel so great. He leaned heavily on the man supporting him as they slowly mounted the last flight of stairs. What had seemed so simple an hour ago was now almost insurmountable but he no choice. He gritted his teeth, ignored the pain in his back and stomach and continued up the stairs.

"Just a little further Mac."

They stumbled down the narrow, deserted corridor and Mac's companion opened the last door on the left. The apartment was small and sparsely furnished. It was obvious that there had been a fight. A lamp lay smashed on the floor, the table it had stood on left on it's side, cupboard doors were thrown open, their contents spilled onto the floor, papers and books were scattered randomly around the room, the drawers of a walnut-inlaid desk pulled open. Someone had been looking for something.

Mac collapsed gratefully into a battered leather armchair, much like the one he had had in his own apartment before the fire. His companion knelt down beside him, his face full of concern.

"Oh God Mac. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be doing this ..." He broke off as Mac placed his hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay Jake, I'll be fine. Go."

x

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><p>x<p>

Don drove as fast as he dare, his lights blaring. He was trying desperately to control his anger. Beside him Jo sat immobile other than her fingers that twisted her ring round and round. Jake Barnett had fooled them all. Don and Jo pulled up outside his address, a small, neatly-kept house with flowers in window-boxes. Not the kind of house that one would expect an arsonist and a murderer to live in. They got out of the car.

"Do we wait for the warrant?" growled Don fixing Jo with a cold stare as they approached the front door.

"What if Mac's in there?" she hesitated. "We have probable cause. Let's do it."

Without hesitation Don walked up to the front door and tested the handle. To his great surprise it was unlocked and the door swung silently inward on well-oiled hinges. Don drew his weapon and entered. He hadn't gone more than a few steps before he stopped and turned back to Jo.

"You smell that?" he asked.

"Gasoline!" At Jo's panicked look he moved swiftly into the neat simply-furnished main room while Jo headed past the stairs towards the back of the house. The smell was overpowering making Don want to gag. Everything had been doused in gasoline. Seeing nothing he continued to the back of the house into the dining room. He turned to see Jo in the kitchen. They nodded and ran back to the stairs. As they reached the bottom of the staircase they heard a muffled cry from above them. Don dashed up the stairs two at a time with Jo close behind. He kicked open a door and skidded to a halt. He had half-expected to see Mac being held hostage by Barnett but instead he was faced with a woman in her thirties, bound and gagged. He rushed over and removed the gag.

"My baby!" she cried. Don looked at her in amazement. He turned to see Jo in the doorway her gun held in a two-handed grip frozen to the spot. Suddenly she turned and sprang away through the other door. Holstering her weapon, Jo opened the door and stepped into a beautiful nursery, all soft pinks and creams. Stepping over to the crib in the centre of the room, she peered down to be met by a smile and a gurgle.

She grabbed the baby and met Don on the stairs. "We've got to get out of here." The relief on the woman's face was evident as she spotted the baby in Jo's arms. Don helped her down the stairs, her legs numb from being tied up. They spilled out into the street and moved away from the house. As they approached their car, Jo and Don turned as they heard the squeal of tyres. A dark blue sedan pulled up and Jo and Don were astonished to see Jake Barnett jump out of car and run to his wife and child.

"Oh God Lisa! You're safe!. Oh Thank God." he cried as he threw his arms around his wife. Jo and Don could only stare as he looked at them over his wife's shoulder.

"How can I ever thank you?" he breathed, his face lit by relief and gratitude.

x

* * *

><p>x<p>

Lindsay stood at Mac's desk for the second time in as many days staring at the contents of the polished wooden box. It was identical in every respect except for the absence of the strange triangular key. Danny wasn't answering his phone. It kept going to voice-mail. He looked up as she heard her name called. She quickly closed the box and locked it in the drawer. She joined Adam and Sheldon in the AV lab.

"Okay this is from the hospital car park." Sheldon pointed to the main screen. The footage showed Jake Barnett walk slowly across the car park pushing a man in a wheelchair. As he stopped by a dark blue sedan, he reached down to help Mac stand and ease him into the car. Abandoning the wheelchair, he ran round to the drivers side and backed the car away. Lindsay frowned.

"That doesn't look much like a kidnapping to me." mumbled Adam."Do you think he was drugged?"

"Well Mac was certainly cooperating. He didn't look to be under duress." mused Sheldon. "I got the plates and am running through the traffic system now. See if we can't figure where they were heading." The computer behind them pinged causing Adam to dash over to the keyboard.

"Okay, the last call to Danny's phone was from Jake Barnett's cell. Time stamp on the car park footage indicates the call was made just after they left and … Adam clicked the mouse. "Danny is … huh?"

Lindsay and Sheldon peered over his shoulder at the triangulated image on the screen.

"At Mac's apartment building."

"What is he doing?" said Lindsay almost to herself. "I'm going." she announced.

Before anyone could dissuade her, Sid came into the room with a gun in one hand.

"I've identified that strange marking on the back of Samuel – small square, with slightly rounded corners – it's the butt of a gun. Possibly a Glock." he announced holding up the weapon in front of him.

"Oh great!" said Adam "An arsonist kidnapper with a knife and a gun!"  
><strong><br>**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N : Thank you so much dear reviewers. So perhaps not all is at it seems ... who is friend and who is foe? All is revealed ... well almost!  
><strong>

**Chapter 15  
><strong>

Danny cut through the seals and cautiously opened the temporary door to Mac's apartment. Everything was silent and as they had left it. His hand on his weapon, he checked out the other rooms before returning to the living room. He removed the triangular key from his pocket and, wondering for the hundredth time what it opened, he placed it on the window sill right under a blue cross painted on the partially boarded window. He took a last look at the room and moved to the door. Grabbing his phone, he glanced at the screen noting the 7 missed calls. Lindsay. He swallowed and scrolled through the incoming calls list to the number he wanted.

"It's done. Now where is Mac Taylor?"

"Not yet. Once I have the key. Now leave the apartment and go back to the lab like a good boy." There was a click as the other party hung up. Danny swore quietly to himself. He closed the door and went to the elevator. It chimed and he stepped in. However instead of heading for street level, he stopped two floors down and got out, carefully opening the door to the service stairwell. It was silent and empty. He began to move back up the stairs towards Mac's apartment when he heard the door above him open.

"Shit!" he started to turn to go back the way he had come when he realised that the person wasn't coming down but going up. Danny began to run taking the stairs two at a time, his trainers silent on the floor. He made sure to keep to the wall in case the person above him should look down. He passed Mac's floor and continued upward. He reached the door to the roof and opened it a crack. He peered through the opening and, seeing nothing, stepped quietly onto the roof.

"Okay Mac you had better be right about this ..." he muttered to himself as he made his way quickly across the roof.

x

* * *

><p>x<p>

Logan Tanner could hear sirens blaring as he pulled his car up to Don's. Pulling himself from the drivers seat, he could see an ambulance and a squad car approaching from the other direction. He spotted Detective Danville squatting down by a woman cradling a baby and was more than surprised to see Don in earnest conversation with the subject of the warrant he held in his hands. The door to the house was wide open. "I obviously don't need this." he thought shoving the piece of paper back into his pocket.

From Don's stance it was obvious that he was not treating Jake Barnett as a suspect. If anything, it looked more like he was treating him as a victim. As he stepped closer he could hear Jake Barnett explaining in a pleading voice:

"I admit I listened to your conversation but at the time I couldn't be sure that it was Sammy Wilson's body in Mac's apartment. It wasn't until I was unable to contact him and I heard that Mac had been assaulted and that you had Mickey Brewster in custody that I knew something was up. I went to Sammy's apartment and that was when I ran into him ransacking the place. You know the rest."

Logan could see that Don looked furious. "Logan!" As Don called him over he was surprised to see a look of pain cross Don's face. "There's something you need to hear. It's about Hernandez."

x

* * *

><p>x<p>

Lindsay punched the red button on the phone angrily. Looking at Sheldon seated beside her in the Avalanche, she stowed the phone.

"He's still not answering."

"Lindsay. Danny knows what he's doing." Sheldon tried to keep his voice upbeat not wanting to worry her further all the while trying to convince himself that his hot-headed friend wasn't rushing into something blindly. At the back of his mind was the added worry that Mac should not have left the hospital and was in no state to be out catching criminals. He sighed – then again it was Mac they were talking about.

"I hope so for both their sakes. What the hell are they thinking?" Lindsay could see the hard lines etched into Sheldon's face. She knew that he was thinking that Mac should be in the hospital. Her phone rang distracting her from her train of thought.

"Adam, we're almost there. Talk to us." She pushed the button to activate the phone speaker and held it so Sheldon could hear too.

"Guys. Be careful. This is not what you think." The warning in Adam's voice was clear. "Jake Barnett is not the culprit here. He's at his house now with Don and Jo." Lindsay and Sheldon glanced at one another in confusion. Sheldon quickly returned his attention to the road as he pulled the Avalanche to a stop near Mac's apartment. He put the car in park as he continued to listen to Adam's explanation. "The person you're looking for here is Gerald Hernandez."

"Gerry?" they cried in unison.

"Logan Tanner's partner? You're sure?" asked Lindsay not believing what she was hearing.

"Lindsay I haven't got time to explain. Listen I think I know where Mac and Danny are ..."

x

* * *

><p>x<p>

Danny leaned over the edge of the roof and looked down at the balcony below him. Despite not being much bigger than a two-seater sofa, the owner had managed to cram a lot of plants into a small space and still leave room to move around. One of the plants had climbed up to the rail that Danny now gripped. Mac had been right. Disguised under the spreading foliage was an actual ladder anchored to the wall. Guess old habits die hard for ex-burglars, thought Danny to himself as he eased himself over and quietly inched his way down. He crouched at the bottom of the ladder and listened. Voices wafted through the open window.

"So what now?" Mac's voice sounded strained as Danny tried to peer through the window without being seen.

"Shut up! This is all your fault." Gerry Hernandez stopped pacing up and down and turned his gun on Mac. "If you hadn't encouraged that little weasel none of this would have happened." Mac flinched not from the gun pointed at his belly but at the words that reminded him of the night of the assault. Hernandez' voice echoed in his head : "Don't play games with me … we know that little weasel put them in your safe."

Hernandez continued. " I couldn't believe it – the high and mighty Mac Taylor resorting to communing with a common criminal to line his own pockets. You're no better than the rest of us." Danny was surprised to hear Mac laugh though he noted it was tinged with pain.

"You think I helped Sammy with his book to line my own pockets? The only criminal here is you Hernandez. You stole from those warehouses. You endangered lives by torching them and you killed Joshua Wilson." The disdain in Mac's voice fuelled Gerry Hernandez' anger. He sprang at Mac and jammed the gun in his stomach. Mac felt sick as the pain soared through him.

"That was an accident. He wasn't supposed to be there. That idiot Brewster didn't wait to make sure McKluskey was the one on duty before lifting those cell phones. I didn't know he'd clobbered the guy and left him there when I torched the place." Gerry pushed the gun in harder.

"That didn't stop you killing his brother in cold blood?" The venom in Mac's voice caused to Gerry to flinch. Suddenly Gerry stood back and pointed his gun at Mac whose good hand gripped the chair so hard his knuckles were white.

"He was nothing but a two-bit criminal who deserved what he got! The world is better off without him . And you're no better ..." . As his finger tightened on the trigger a sudden knock came at the door. "Yo Sammy, it's Matt. Open up man." Gerry spun round startled.

The distraction was all Danny needed. He leapt through the window as the door opposite was kicked open. Twin cries of "Freeze. Drop your weapon." forced Hernandez to twist his head side to side as though he were watching a tennis match. Realising he was trapped he turned his gun on Mac. "You bastard!" Two shots rang out and Gerry Hernandez' body jerked violently before collapsing to the ground.

Danny slowly raised his head as he lowered his weapon and met his wife's eyes. "Hey Sweetheart. Nice timing!" Lindsay stared at her husband in mock anger. "Yeah thanks to Adam. It's a good job he has read Mac's book and knew that Sammy lived on the same block else we wouldn't have known where you were. You should have told us what what going on." Danny look chastised.

"S'not my book …." murmured Mac through the fog that was beginning to cloud his mind.

Sheldon pushed past Lindsay. "Mac! EMT's on their way." He caught Mac as he began to keel over.

"Sheldon, Jake? … His wife and baby? ..."

"They're fine Mac. Don and Jo are handling it. Take it easy. We're taking you back to the hospital."

"S'a good idea ..." Sheldon eyebrow's shot up at hearing his friend finally admit that he was not in the best of conditions. There were bound to be repercussions from today's little jaunt. As he turned to look at Danny and Lindsay who were both stood over Gerry Hernandez their faces impenetrable, Sheldon sighed and not just for Mac either.

****


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N : Thank you so much for reading. Here's the last chapter ... and epilogue to round it off.  
><strong>

**Chapter 16**

  
>"Good Morning Detective Taylor!" Mac blinked as he tried to open his eyes and focus on the face in front of him.<p>

"Good Morning!" he whispered shyly.

"Well, it will be if you're going to obey orders and do as your told." Gayle tried to look severe but it was rather difficult especially with the cute little boy smile. "Come along. I'll help you sit up. I expect you're thirsty." Gayle raised the head of the bed. Mac winced and peered down the front of his hospital gown. "Damn!"

"Yes! You have a nice new scar to add to your collection. It appears having a gun jammed into your stomach did some damage to your spleen." At Mac's inquiring look she added. "No don't worry, we didn't have to remove it but I will be having the pleasure of your company for at least another week."

"Now put your arm around my shoulders and lean forward. Try not to use your stomach muscles." As she tucked another pillow behind him, Mac saw Don peer through the glass window a look of pure disgust on his face. Mac leaned back into the pillows trying to hide a smile. Having spent some time with Don when he was recuperating in hospital Mac knew what was coming.

Gayle handed Mac a glass of water with instructions to sip it slowly, checked the new IV bag she has just set up and flashed Don a big smile as she left. "Make sure he behaves."

"What was that?" spluttered Don staring after the attractive redhead.

"Not what Don, who? … That was Gayle." Mac tried very hard not to smirk as he sipped his water.

"Gayle?" Don looked outraged.

"Yes Gayle. I needed a little … assistance." Judging by the look on his face, Mac's attempt at winding him up was working.

"Assistance? … When I needed assistance, I got Trevor the Terrible … and you … you get Gayle the Gorgeous!" he spat.

"What can I say Don? Life is cruel." Mac smiled as Don couldn't help but laugh. Don pulled up a chair and plopped himself down. Mac stared at his friend. He looked utterly exhausted.

"How is everyone coping?" Mac's tone softened. The humour had disappeared and Mac was concerned.

Don hesitated before responding. "Logan's taken it hard. He and Gerry were partners for almost three years. He trusted him implicitly." Don fell silent, his face closed not wanting to admit how hard this had hit him too.

"Danny and Lindsay?" Mac asked.

"They're coping but it's hard taking down one of your own." A silent look of understanding passed between them as they both recalled harsh words when Mac had arrested Dean Truby, a police officer caught dealing drugs. Mac was thankful that he had only to take him into custody and not been put in a position where he had to kill him. He owed his life to Danny and Lindsay, to his whole team.

"How many more bad apples do you think there are?" Don couldn't look Mac in the face.

A wistful look came over Mac's face. He didn't want to think about it. "Fortunately a lot fewer than good ones."

Don half smiled and nodded towards the door. "Looks like you have another visitor." Mac turned to see Jake Barnett standing at the glass. He raised his hand in greeting.

"Not interrupting am I? … I just wanted to say thank you to you both."

"No thanks needed." Don stood and pulled up another chair. " In fact I owe you an apology. We had you down as the bad guy for a while there."

Mac looked at them both in surprise. "Jake?"

Don explained that the team had puzzled over how Mac's attackers had known about Mac's safe and the items hidden there. And then when Adam mentioned that Jake was still there and how they'd matched Jake's picture to the man outside the bar with Mickey Brewster, they'd jumped to conclusions.

"You know! Who better to set a fire than a fire investigator?" finished Don.

"Yeah" laughed Jake. "They even thought I'd torched the hospital! That turned out to be a patient trying to find a discrete place for a smoke!" Even Mac had to laugh at that one but wished he hadn't as his stomach muscles protested. "I admit, I did hear the conversation about the safe but I was actually measuring the door frame for the temporary door that was needed. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I almost said something at the time but thought it couldn't be. I didn't want to be Sammy."

"So how did they know?" asked Mac.

"That was my fault." Don looked guilty. Mac's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Logan and I were talking about your miraculous return from the dead and how hard it must have been to come home to find your pad in ruins. Seems he's an organisation freak like you ..." This earned him a famous Taylor glare. "... so when he said he hoped you kept your papers at the office, I kinda told him about the safe. Of course Hernandez must have been listening."

Mac just shrugged and gave Don a sympathetic look. To be honest, at the moment he couldn't have cared less. The drugs flowing into his arm left him feeling ... Mac's brain searched for an appropriate word … benevolent!

"And Hernandez also knew when you were leaving the office..." Don looked suspiciously at Mac expecting another Taylor glare but as Mac merely smiled 'benevolently' he thought he might as well get it over with. "... I kinda bragged that you were paying the full works from Señor Chows!"

Jake picked up the relay "And as for the photograph outside the bar, well that was because Sammy and I were trying to identify Mickey Brewster. We didn't know who he was, only that McKluskey had met up with him after checking out the warehouse. So after we followed McKluskey to the bar and witnessed a conversation and money changing hands, I wandered up to Brewster and pretended to be lost. I asked for directions so that he had no choice but to look towards where Sammy was hidden with the camera. We thought that if we had enough evidence you would be able to open an investigation."

Mac looked confused. Don and Jake glanced at one another. "Did Sammy mention his second book?" asked Jake. Mac shook his head so Jake continued. "Sammy wanted to make his brother the hero of the second book so he started researching warehouse fires. He must have come across evidence that William McKluskey was involved in one fire too many so he started digging deeper. He came to me to ask about the Lambert Road fire." Jake suddenly broke off. He looked down at the floor.

"My God! I got it wrong Mac. I declared that fire an accident. I should have looked closer." Jake put his hand over his face to hide his regret.

"Jake. You're not to blame." Jake's head shot up at the vehemence in Mac's voice. "You're one of the best investigators I've ever had the privilege of working with." Jake smiled but looked unconvinced.

Don put his hand on his shoulder. "You did your best Jake. Danny told me the fire started in the mains box. You know yourself there's a hundred ways he could have fixed it." Jake nodded but look unconvinced.

Despite the painkillers and the slightly euphoric feeling that was coming over him Mac cut to heart of the discussion. "What was the key for?"

Don leant forward in his seat. "To be honest Mac, we're not entirely sure. It's quite unusual. Adam is trying to identify the manufacturer. He reckons it's to a safety deposit box. Maybe that's where Hernandez kept his share of the money from the thefts. As for how Sammy got it, we have no idea. It's possible that Hernandez was inside the bar when Jake here asked Mickey Brewster for directions. The barman said he recognised him as one of Mickey's friends. He could have followed Sammy home. There were definitely signs of a struggle at Sammy's place but Sammy must have got away and hid the stuff at your place. Hernandez followed him and killed him." Don sighed "But quite how Sammy got the key is a mystery. I guess we're never gonna know the whole story."

Mac nodded thoughtfully. "You say Hernandez and Sammy were in a fight." As Don nodded he added. "The first time I arrested Sammy was for picking pockets!"

"What I don't understand is why Hernandez insisted that Danny bring the key and that I force you to leave the hospital and go to Sammy's place?" asked Jake.

Mac laughed. "Although he was mainly motivated by greed, I reckon he thought he might as well throw a little revenge into the mix." At his friends look at astonishment. "He was the other candidate when I took Danny on as a CSI. I guess he didn't take the rejection too well."

x

* * *

><p>x<p>

_10 days later_...

The straggle of people stood round the coffin as the grim-faced priest intoned the last words of farewell. A chill wind sent the leaves dancing across the cemetery making Logan Tanner shiver. He turned up his collar and stood watching from a distance as the coffin was lowered into the ground. "Why Gerry? Why?" he muttered to himself. The wind whispered in his ears as though trying to answer but the words were indistinct. He knew that he would never know the answer to that question. As he walked slowly away from the resting place of the man he thought was his friend he fingered the transfer papers in his pocket. Yes it was time for a change. There was an opening in the training division. Logan nodded to himself. Yes time to move on.

A little later that same day, another funeral was taking place. Any visitors would have been surprised to hear muted laughter as a small number of people bade farewell to their friend. As the jovial prison chaplain who had agreed to take Samuel Wilson's funeral drew the service to a close the group of people rose as one to take their leave. Jake Barnett held out to his left arm to assist the man seated to his left. "Doctor orders!" he smiled.

Mac Taylor raised an eyebrow but didn't refuse the proffered arm as he tried to ignore the pain in his abdomen. As they walked slowly past the coffin they couldn't help but smile.

"He was quite a character wasn't he?" said Jake.

"Yes he was. Definitely not your average burglar. He regretted his past and was trying to make amends." Mac sighed.

"You know Mac, these past few weeks have been a real eye opener. A burglar turns out to be a philanthropist. Three security guards turn out to be thieves. A cop turns out to be an arsonist and a crime scene investigator turns out to be an author.

Mac pulled a face but couldn't help laughing. "I didn't write it!"

"Are you going to try to finish his books?" asked Jake.

Mac pulled a face and shrugged : "I dunno. Maybe with a little help from some friends." As Jake smiled and nodded his agreement Mac continued. "The proceeds from the first book has done a lot for New Start. They've been able to help more prisoners back into the world of work. Sammy has given a lot of people a lot of hope. I know he would have wanted that to continue**.**

"I'm sure he would."****


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_3 months later..._

Mac shivered at the cold blast of air as he flung open the window to his apartment. The smell of paint and varnish still lingered in the newly renovated apartment.

"Where would you like this Mr Taylor?" shouted one of the men carrying a brand-new bed-frame still in it's protective plastic sheet. Mac indicated the corridor to their right. "Master bedroom to your right please." Mac stood on the mezzanine and looked around the room. His eyes rested on two new sofas placed at a ninety-degree angle around a wooden coffee table in the lower half of the room. A credenza stood against the wall by the door with a single bowl for his keys. He now had a bed. A little minimalist but at least he was home. He ran his hand across an old leather armchair, not quite the same as his old one but comfortable non-the-less. He imagined Sammy sitting there sipping his whiskey. He was surprised when Sammy's solicitor had called to say that Sammy had left him everything including the rights to his books. Mac looked in the box that he'd put on the chair and pulled out a copy of Sammy's first book and placed it on an empty shelf. He pulled out two folders with Sammy's unfinished manuscripts.

"Well that's the lot Mr Taylor. We'll be off." The two delivery men waved their goodbyes and Mac crossed over to a polished desk with walnut inlay and put the folders in a drawer. He went to go close the door but before he could reach it he was surprised to hear voices from the corridor. "On your left … watch where you're going … no my left … well right then." Sheldon backed into the room carrying one end of a large box followed by Adam. "Keep going! Hey Boss! Mind the steps!"

Mac was stunned so that for a moment he couldn't say anything. Before he could ask, Sheldon answered his unspoken question with a big grin. "House-warming present from the lab." Mac watched them carry the new television up the steps and place it by the shelves.

"Hey Mac! Wow, nice place!" Mac spun surprised by the voice from behind him.

"Ellie?"

The young girl before him grinned. "Kitchen through here? Come on Mom!" she yelled, and with that she disappeared through the doorway with a grocery bag in her arms. Jo followed her and flashed Mac a big smile as she carried a box marked "16 piece dinner service" into the kitchen.

"Uncle Mac!" squealed a little voice thrusting a strange object into his hands. "I maked you a present."

"Made Lucy!" corrected her mother.

Mac studied the strange object in his hands. It was roughly oval, obviously not intended to be flat but not quite curved either and it seemed to be made from a multitude of coloured squares of paper which had been varnished. He smiled at Lucy "Why thank you Lucy. It's a beautiful ..." he glanced at Lindsay who was mouthing at him from behind her daughter "...fruit bowl."

"I maked it out of pap-yeah mash-ay!" she said proudly.

"Made Lucy!" corrected her mother. Mac placed it carefully in the centre of his large square coffee table.

"Ellie! I want some fruit." she screamed disappearing into the kitchen "Mommy, can I have a cookie?"

Lindsay sighed, giving Mac a brief hug before following her daughter into the kitchen picking up the trail of discarded coat, scarf and gloves as she went. Mac looked at Danny in surprise, or what he assumed to be Danny as his head wasn't visible behind the pile of boxes he was carrying. Mac quickly removed the top box before Danny walked into the table.

"Hey Mac. I'll just put these here." Danny dumped his packages on the coffee table. "Watch that one! It's fragile!"he said indicating the package that Mac had taken from him. Danny plopped himself down on one of the sofas. "This is great. You've got furniture."

Peals of laughter came from the kitchen and Lucy reappeared with a bunch of bananas and an apple which she dumped unceremoniously onto her 'fruit bowl'. "Open presents now? That's from Mommy and Daddy." She looked hopefully at her 'Uncle Mac' as she really wanted to open them too.

Mac went round the other side of the table and took a seat on the other sofa as Lindsay joined her husband. Mac opened the gift assisted by Lucy. He smiled as he removed the paper. "Thank you." he said quietly touched by the gift, a square, cut crystal decanter and glasses. As he looked up he noticed that Ellie had plopped herself on the floor opposite him, Jo was leaning against the door frame. Sheldon and Adam had temporarily abandoned unpacking the television to watch.

"And I have something for you to put in it ..." announced Sid as he knocked on the door. He placed a bottle of 12 year single malt on the table.

"What's that?" asked Lucy.

"It's whiskey, Lucy." explained Mac. "Thank you Sid."

"Can I have some?" she asked hopefully but then looked quite put out when everyone chorused "No." To placate her Mac gave her one of the other two packages to open. It had been clearly sent via the mail. Mac smiled as he looked at post mark. As he opened the first one, Danny helped Lucy with the second one. Lucy looked a little disappointed to find a plain cardboard box but brightened up when she opened it to find lots of tiny multi-coloured 'cups' inside. Anything multi-coloured had to be good in her eyes.

"Candy Uncle Mac?" Lucy looked at him hopefully.

"No coffee. They go with this." Mac showed her the latest capsule coffee machine. "But I think you might like those ones." Mac pointed to one of the capsules. "They're hot chocolate."

"Can I Mommy? Pleeeeese!" Lindsay smiled and shook her head as Mac handed her the machine. Ellie grabbed the box of capsules and held out her hand to the little girl. Mac smiled as they left. "Make mine an espresso!"

"Wow, that's awesome. I've always wanted one of those. Who's it from?" asked Adam still leaning on the balustrade.

"Gotta be someone who knows you too well ..." laughed Sheldon. Mac glared at him but everyone laughed.

Danny glanced at the packaging. "Huh, the note just says … 'Don't you forget it!' ..." He glanced at Mac who was blushing and then at the post mark. "Ah ah! Who do we know in New Orleans?"

At the laughter from the rest of the room, Mac rose shaking his head and offered his seat to Sid indicating to Jo to come and sit down.. He was about to offer a formal word of thanks when there came a small tap at the door and an elderly lady entered. She placed a bag on the floor as Mac turned to greet her.

"Mrs Ryan!"

"Oh I do hope I'm not interrupting anything dear. I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Not at all. … I'm so sorry for what has happened ..." Mac was clearly distressed but the elderly lady cut him off.

"Oh no dear!" she said. "You have nothing to be sorry for. In fact I have to thank you." At Mac's look of surprise she continued. "My daughter and son-in-law have been on at me for months to come and live with them. I'm too stubborn for my own good but when the fire forced me to stay with them I realised that I wouldn't really have to give up my independence and it's good to be with one's family. So I have decided to make it permanent." She reached down for the bag. "I want you to have this. It belonged to my late husband. A military man like yourself." As Mac was about to protest, she placed her hand on his arm. "No, no. My grandchildren will only break it and I know it's something you will appreciate. After everything you have done for me it's the least I can do. Now I must be going as my son-in-law is waiting for me." She kissed Mac on the cheek and waved as she left.

For a moment Mac was unable to move. He took a deep breath aware that everyone was watching him. He placed the bag carefully on the table. Lucy and Ellie moved quietly from the doorway as Mac carefully lifted the fragile antique from the bag and held it for a second. He turned his back and placed it on the credenza running his hand over the beautiful walnut casing before standing back to allow everyone to admire it.

"Wow" uttered Adam.

"It's beautiful." breathed Jo as her daughter asked Mac what it was.

Mac cleared his throat. "It's a mariner's weather station." Mac reached out and carefully released the catch lowering the glass-panelled front. Pointing to the dial on the right "The clock movement turns the barometer drum." He moved his hand to indicate the cylinder in the centre. "This engraved dial shows the pressure, and this is a thermometer."

"Is it old?" asked Ellie.

"Why don't you tell me?" Mac smiled. Ellie peered closely. "J.J. Hicks" she read "1874 Wow!"

Mac turned to face his friends. "Thank you." He whispered. "Thank you all for everything … I ..." Everyone could see how deeply touched he was. He cleared his throat in an attempt to control his emotions in order to continue. However, he was saved by Don's grand entrance waving two enormous white carrier bags.

"Okay who's hungry?" he announced holding out the bags and looking somewhat surprised as the subdued crowd before him. He turned to look at Mac who was staring strangely at the writing on the bags.

"What?" he asked but before Mac could answer. "Seriously Mac, you don't think I'm ever letting you go to Señor Chow's on your own again do you?

**The End  
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